Norway will open talks with France on joining its nuclear umbrella, French President Emmanuel Macron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on ​Wednesday, reflecting growing European concerns about relying on the United States for security, Reuters reported.

The move ‌signals a shift by Norway, long a staunch Atlanticist that has relied heavily on NATO and the U.S. nuclear umbrella, towards closer defence cooperation within Europe.

Macron and Stoere announced the plan at a meeting in Paris, where they ​also signed a broader defence agreement which includes Norway joining a French-led nuclear weapons initiative.

Stoere ​said Norway’s primary deterrence would remain the NATO alliance and the United States, but ⁠described France’s nuclear capabilities as “an important contribution” to the alliance’s overall posture.

“France’s capabilities are an important ​contribution to NATO’s deterrence posture, which is important for us,” Stoere said.

Under the plan, Norway would take ​part in what France calls “forward nuclear deterrence”, under which European partners are more closely involved in French strategic thinking on nuclear defence.

“This agreement establishes a principle of mutual assistance between our two countries,” Macron said, adding that deeper ​cooperation would support Europe’s ambitions for greater strategic autonomy.

The initiative comes as European countries seek to strengthen ​their own defence capabilities amid doubts about long-term U.S. commitments and heightened tensions with Russia.

In March, France offered to extend ‌the ⁠protection of its nuclear umbrella to other European countries which, in practice, means that an attack on a country could trigger a French nuclear response, read the report.

Norway becomes the latest country to receive France’s nuclear protection, after Poland and Lithuania, which also share borders with Russia.

Stoere told Norwegian news agency NTB earlier on Wednesday that ​no nuclear weapons will ​be deployed in Norway ⁠in peacetime.

The Nordic nation of 5.6 million inhabitants is a member of NATO, but not of the European Union, and shares a border with Russia ​in the Arctic.

“This closer cooperation will make European and transatlantic security stronger. ​Together, we are ⁠enabling a burden shift. It was long before Trump that this became necessary, that Europe had to pay more and do … wiser investments, not only country by country, but coordinated,” Stoere said.

Russia and the U.S. ⁠are the ​world’s biggest nuclear powers, with over 5,000 nuclear warheads each. ​China has about 600, France has 290 and Britain 225, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

A chemical tank imploded and ruptured at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility ​in the U.S. state of Washington on Tuesday, resulting in one death and nine ‌injuries, while nine others remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday night, authorities said.

A joint written statement with Nippon and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Department said a tank containing “white liquor,” a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide ​used in making paper pulp, had ruptured around 7:15 a.m. local time (1415 GMT), Reuters reported.

While the ​tank was initially believed to hold around 80,000 gallons (302,830 litres), officials later said ⁠it contained closer to 900,000 gallons of white liquor, with an estimated 90,000 gallons of material ​still inside the damaged tank.

Recovery efforts would resume on Wednesday at the site in the city of ​Longview in Cowlitz County, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Portland, Oregon, as the tank remained unstable, Longview Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Amos said during a media briefing.

The injured, some critical, included eight employees of the facility ​as well as one firefighter, Amos said, adding that the firefighter had been treated and released.

Authorities ​had earlier said that multiple patients suffered from chemical burns.

Officials reiterated in the evening that the implosion posed “no ‌direct threat ⁠to the surrounding community.”

At the media briefing, Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson said: “It’s difficult always to find the words at a time like this … Our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody impacted by this tragedy.”

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview told ABC News earlier in the day ​that six of the patients ​were in fair ⁠condition.

Nippon Paper Industries, Japan’s second-biggest paper manufacturer by sales, acquired the Longview plant from Seattle-based timber company Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and established the wholly-owned subsidiary ​Nippon Dynawave Packaging in 2016.

Japanese media reported that no injury was confirmed ​among Japanese employees, ⁠citing the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle.

In southern California, meanwhile, authorities have been monitoring an overheating industrial tank containing highly flammable methyl methacrylate. The worst-case possibility of an explosion was ruled out on Monday at ⁠the GKN ​Aerospace facility in Garden Grove after a crack relieved ​some of the mounting pressure, officials said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday negotiating a deal with Iran could “take a few days,” quashing hopes for an imminent end to the conflict ​a day after U.S. forces conducted what Washington called defensive strikes in southern Iran.

Describing the strikes against targets including boats attempting to lay mines ‌and missile launch sites, Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz has to be open “one way or the other.”

“The straits have to be open, they’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open,” Rubio told reporters on his plane in India’s Jaipur.

Despite a ceasefire in place since early April, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Monday it had carried ​out fresh strikes designed “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”

Iran said on Monday it had downed a “hostile” stealth drone using a new air ​defence system, Iranian news agencies reported, without saying where it had come from.

The U.S. attacks came as Iran’s top negotiator and its ⁠foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential deal with the U.S. to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit ​said.

Rubio told reporters in New Delhi earlier that the U.S. would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering whether to deal with Iran in “another way”.

He said there was ​a “pretty solid thing on the table,” referring to talks over reopening the strait and a “very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter.”

In a lengthy post on Truth Social on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were going “nicely”, but warned of fresh attacks if they failed. It “will only be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all,” he wrote.

In another indication of ​the region’s tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would intensify strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Israel’s military soon thereafter said it was ​attacking Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley and other areas.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in mid-April, but Israel has continued airstrikes it says are acts of self-defence against Hezbollah, ‌which was ⁠not party to the truce.

The official briefed on the Iranians’ Doha visit told Reuters the discussions focused on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran’s central bank governor attended to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final deal.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier that nuclear issues would only be negotiated after the framework accord was agreed.

Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon ​with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has ​consistently denied it has plans to do ⁠that.

Baghaei said the potential Iran deal contained no specific details on management of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually flows.

Iran would not charge tolls for ships to pass through but there ​would be a cost for services offered such as navigation and steps to protect the environment, he said, under a protocol ​to be agreed with ⁠Oman, which lies on the opposite shore of the waterway.

Citing a Middle East diplomatic source, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported the U.S. and Iran were discussing a plan to open the strait about 30 days after reaching a deal to end hostilities.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, only a few dozen vessels have been passing through the ⁠Strait of Hormuz ​compared with 125 to 140 daily previously.

The stand-off has caused a spike in oil prices and driven ​up the costs of fuel, fertiliser and food.

In early Asian trade on Tuesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up slightly from Monday’s last traded price but down 5.5% from Friday’s close.