A day after United States President Donald Trump announced his plan for a full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s threat to retaliate against its Gulf neighbours’ ports, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated the country’s position on the war in West Asia.
Keir Starmer said on Monday that his country would not be part of the US blockade of Iranian ports. Speaking to BBC Radio, Keir Starmer said that “we do not support a blockade” and that the UK “will not be drawn into war”.
Meanwhile, a German spokesman appeared confused about what the United States would block as talks between the US and Iranian delegations in Pakistan’s Islamabad broke down.
What the UK and Germany said
As well as reiterating the UK’s stance on the Iran war, Starmer also claimed that efforts remain focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route whose closure has caused oil and other commodity prices to soar.
He also spoke to Donald Trump and said Britain would send minesweepers into the strait. She has previously said that Britain will help with the Strait of Hormuz only after the fighting stops.
Starmer said all of Britain’s military capacity was focused on “opening the Straits completely”. The UK is working with dozens of other countries on plans to restore the safety of shipping through the key post-conflict oil route.
Germany on the other hand looked confused. A German spokesman said the government expected the US to begin the blockade of Iranian ports, not Hormuz.
Turkey’s foreign minister expressed concern on Monday about Iran or the United States proposing new rules for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, saying he sees difficulties with proposals to reopen the waterway by international forces.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: “There are many difficulties in intervening here with international armed forces. Especially as the war continues, how much will it narrow or expand? We see that many countries are not interested in it. The problem is whether there will be proposals for new regulations from now on, especially from Iran,” he said.
What Trump said
On the Truth Social on Sunday, April 12, Donald Trump announced that the US Navy will begin blocking all ships attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.
He said: “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of BLOCKING all ships attempting to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz.”
“At some point we will achieve ALL IN ALL ALL OUT, but Iran has not allowed that by just saying, ‘There might be a mine out there somewhere’ that no one knows about except them. THIS IS WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENT and I have never and will never force leaders of countries, especially the United States of America, to ban every vessel in International Waters that has paid tolls Iran, no one paying illegal tolls will have safe passage on the high seas.We will also begin destroying the mines that the Iranians have laid in the strait.
