Britain will not support a proposed US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz or be “dragged” into a war with Iran, the Prime Minister said on Monday, insisting his goal was to reopen the waterway.
Keir Starmer said that despite “considerable pressure” following US President Donald Trump’s latest announcement, Britain will not send naval forces to support American forces in the region.
The UK and France will co-host a summit this week on a “co-ordinated, independent, multinational” plan to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when the conflict ends, Mr Starmer said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the conference was “for countries prepared to contribute alongside us to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait. This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit.”
In response to the failure of negotiations held with Iran in Pakistan at the weekend, the Pentagon said the blockade would begin at 10am Eastern Time on Monday.
Mr Trump posted on social media that the US Navy would clear the strait of mines, warning that “any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell!”
He also threatened to stop tankers from entering or leaving the global oil and gas shipping lane. But in a further blow to embattled transatlantic relations, Mr Starmer made clear that “we are not supporting the blockade”.
“My decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure, and there's been some considerable pressure, we're not getting dragged into the war,” he told the BBC.
“What we’ve been doing over the last few weeks – and this was part of what I was discussing with the Gulf states last week – is bringing countries together to keep the strait open, not shut.
“The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply damaging. Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost-of-living pressures. The UK has convened more than 40 nations who share our aim to restore freedom of navigation.”
Mr Starmer did suggest Britain would help with securing the safe passage of ships through the strait stating that “we do have mine-sweeping capability” that was focused “on getting the strait fully open”.
While Britain withdrew its sole minesweeper from the Arabian Gulf a day after the Iran war started, it does have an autonomous countermine capability that could be used.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told The National the UK had “pre-positioned autonomous minehunting capabilities in the region” during a Downing Street briefing.
“The Royal Navy is also stepping up its minehunting capabilities by adding new, cutting-edge, uncrewed equipment to RFA Lyme Bay, allowing it to be used as a mother ship for autonomous systems, if required, that high-tech equipment will be able to detect, identify and neutralise threats.”
Mr Starmer, who accused Iran of breaching international law by closing the strait, also warned about the potential for energy prices to spiral with no peace deal in place that was affecting UK households “who've obviously played no part in the war”.
That concern was reflected after oil prices jumped by eight per cent with Brent crude rising to $103 a barrel on Monday morning.
Mr Trump’s latest “high stakes gamble” had sent a “fresh jolt of pessimism through financial markets”, said Susannah Streeter, of the Wealth Club investment brokers.
“By blockading the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is turning Iran’s chokepoint into a US stranglehold,” she added. “The prospect of all tankers ceasing transit through this key waterway is making the energy crisis even more acute.”
Mr Starmer hopes to use Britain’s convening power to establish a force that will ensure safe passage of shipping once a deal is agreed.
“The single most important thing I could do is to do what I'm doing, bring countries together to get de-escalation, to get the strait open,” he said. “We can play a part in the political and diplomatic bringing countries together.”
He also insisted that Britain would not act “unless there's a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan”.
