The UK will not participate in any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Downing Street has confirmed, after US President Donald Trump claimed that NATO allies would assist in such an operation. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said “it won’t take long to clean out the strait” and alleged that “numerous countries are going to be helping us,” including the UK with minesweepers.
However, Whitehall sources have stressed that Britain’s willingness to consider a role in mine-removal operations is distinct from Trump’s blockade proposal. The UK has mine-hunting systems and anti-drone capabilities already in the region, but there are concerns that complying with Trump’s demand to send ships could escalate the crisis.
A government spokesperson said: “The UK will 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. 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.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said talks were ongoing between allies in Europe, Gulf partners and the US to create a “credible, viable plan” for reopening the strait after Iran blocked traffic. He has also urged the US and Iran “to find a way through” after the failure of peace talks over the weekend, and called for the ceasefire to continue.
Trump’s comments came hours after Health Secretary Wes Streeting criticised his rhetoric on Iran as “incendiary, provocative and outrageous”. Trump also repeated a jibe comparing Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, saying Starmer’s statement about sending equipment after the war was a “Neville Chamberlain-type statement”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves wrote in the Sunday Times that the war in Iran would “come at a cost to British families and businesses”, adding: “These are not costs I wanted, but they are costs we will have to respond to.”
