Starmer says UK will not join US blockade, insisting focus is on opening Strait of Hormuzpublished at 11:14 BST
11:14 BST
Image source, AFP
Starmer has said the UK won’t join the US in enforcing their blockade of Iranian ports, and says instead his focus is on working with allies to get the strait fully open.
This week the UK and France will co-host a summit which Starmer says will “advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends”.
Starmer, who has recently returned from a visit to the Gulf region, said he had been working with allies to “keep the strait open, not shut”.
UK minesweepers and anti-drone capabilities will continue operating in the region but British naval ships and soldiers will not be used to block Iranian ports.
Around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran effectively cutting off the waterway since US-Israeli strikes began on 28 February.