London, Apr 13 (PTI) Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday ruled out British support for US President Donald Trump’s planned blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas, including the crucial shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz.
During a weekend phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Starmer reiterated the UK stance of the need to “work with a wide coalition of partners to protect freedom of navigation,” given the strategic importance of the Strait for global trade and energy supplies.
He confirmed the presence of mine-sweepers and anti-drone defensive presence in the region as he stressed that British military capability will continue to focus on getting the Strait “fully open”.
“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,” Starmer told BBC Radio.
“We’re not supporting the blockade and all of the marshalling diplomatically, politically and capability – we do have mine-sweeping capability, I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability – that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the Strait fully open,” he said.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s threat to blockade ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz in a post on Truth Social, Starmer reiterated the UK’s position against being drawn into the US-Iran conflict.
“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. The UK is not getting dragged in.
“That’s not in our national interest, because I’m not going to act unless there’s a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan,” he said.
The US announced its blockade plan after talks in Islamabad with Iranian authorities failed to secure a lasting peace deal to end hostilities in West Asia.
“We continue to support freedom of navigation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed to support the global economy and the cost of living back home,” a UK government spokesperson said.
“The Strait of Hormuz must not be subject to tolling. We are urgently working with France and other partners to put together a wide coalition to protect freedom of navigation,” the spokesperson said.
Later this week, the UK and France will co-host a summit which Starmer has said would “advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends”.
Meanwhile, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to travel to Washington DC for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting where the reopening the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel will be a priority agenda.
The UK government said it remains geared towards curbing the “deeply damaging” impact of the disruption to global shipping in order to ease cost-of-living pressures at home and worldwide. PTI AK AMS
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