Britain is to host 35-nation talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic, it was revealed today, hours after Donald Trump told them to ‘go get their own oil’.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host a meeting of international leaders tomorrow to ‘assess all viable diplomatic and political measures’ to reopen the vital waterway, Keir Starmer said this morning.
Iran’s stranglehold on the key shipping route has seen oil and gas prices soar in the UK and the rest of the world, but questions have been raised as to whether reopening it would be part of Donald Trump’s demands for peace.
He has previously indicated he will be prepared to end military operations without the strait being reopened to shipping traffic, telling the UK and other allies last night to ‘go get your own oil’ in protest at a lack of support for the US-Israeli bombing campaign.
However he U-turned on this position this morning, using a Truth Social post to say reopening the Strait was his main demand to end the bombing.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries who will attend the talks, according to a British government statement.
A British official said it was expected that any first phase would focus on mine-hunting, followed by a second phase to protect tankers crossing the area.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host a meeting of international leaders to ‘assess all viable diplomatic and political measures’ to reopen the vital waterway, Keir Starmer said today
Iran’s stranglehold on the key shipping route has seen oil and gas prices soar in the UK and the rest of the world, but questions have been raised as to whether reopening it would be part of Donald Trump’s demands for peace
A number of working-level meetings are expected to take place afterwards to work through the detail following the talks as the passage, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, remains blocked.
Military planners will consider how to make the strait ‘accessible and safe’ after the fighting has stopped, although this is not expected to involve the deployment of Royal Navy warships to police the waterway.
The RAC said the average price of a litre of diesel at UK forecourts today was 184.2p, up 29 per cent since the war began on February 28, with petrol up 16 per cent to 153.7p.
The AA advised drivers to cut their speed by 10 per cent to improve fuel efficiency in response to the mounting cost of motoring.
Fuel duty is frozen until September, with the rise scheduled for then under review as a result of the high prices, but other countries including Australia have already taken action to reduce the impact of price hikes for drivers.
But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had to be cautious with the nation’s finances to avoid increasing inflation, interest rates and Government borrowing costs.
“If I promised that I could alleviate every price increase for every person, I wouldn’t be telling the truth, because all that you will be doing if you do that is pushing up inflation, interest rates and taxes in the future,” she told BBC Breakfast.
Meanwhile, RAF Regiment gunners shot down more than 10 Iranian drones overnight.
UK Typhoon and F-35 jets, as well as Wildcat helicopters, also continued defensive missions in Cyprus, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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In a post on his Truth Social network, the US president took another swipe at Britain yesterday
