PM acknowleges it was ‘early days’ in restoring full shipping traffic to the strait as key maritime route reportedly closed again
The UK has a “job” to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, Keir Starmer has said, as Iranian reports said the key shipping route was closed again just hours after a supposed ceasefire.
The prime minister met UK and local personnel at an airbase in Taif, Saudi Arabia, at the start of what is expected to be a wider trip to Gulf allies, one billed as a mirror to his efforts to pull together a plan for how a ceasefire might operate in Ukraine.
While UK officials portrayed the visit as “complementary” to Pakistan-brokered talks between the US and Iran, Starmer is likely to be viewed in Gulf states as a more predictable and reliable partner than a US led by Donald Trump.
The ceasefire was agreed little more than an hour before a deadline set by the US president, who had threatened that Iran’s “whole civilisation” would die if it did not meet US demands. As part of its terms, the strait of Hormuz was intended to be reopened, with Starmer’s trip aimed at building on a UK-led gathering of military planners on Tuesday as to how this could happen in practice.
