France, March 27 -- Rubio will spend most of Friday in talks near Versailles, south-west of Paris, in what will be his first trip abroad since Washington joined Israel in launching strikes against Iran on 28 February.

Hosted by France - which holds the rotating G7 presidency - the meeting in Cernay-la-Ville will bring together foreign ministers from the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan alongside their US counterpart.

The other G7 ministers began the talks without Rubio on Thursday.

The meeting comes as the closure of key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz impacts global energy markets, driving oil prices higher and fuelling concern about wider economic fallout.

Although the agenda formally spans multiple crises...