Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict as a “sense of real relief”, but warned that significant work remains to secure a lasting peace and restore oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Prime Minister, speaking during a visit to an air base in Saudi Arabia, said he was focused on minimising the economic impact of the war by reopening the strategic waterway. “There’s a lot of work to do there,” he added.
The ceasefire was announced after US President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iranian infrastructure. However, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Wednesday night in response to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The US called the closure unacceptable.
Sir Keir described the situation as “early days” and stressed the need to transform the temporary ceasefire into a permanent one. He also noted that while the war was not the UK’s, his responsibility was to protect British interests. The conflict had already driven up UK fuel prices, with diesel reaching 190.6p per litre.
The Prime Minister’s relationship with Mr Trump has been strained after Sir Keir refused to grant unrestricted use of British bases for strikes against Iran. Defending his stance, he said he acted in the national interest, ensuring any action had a lawful basis and a viable plan.
A joint statement from world leaders, including Sir Keir, welcomed the ceasefire and pledged to uphold freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Israel continued attacks on Lebanon, and Vice President JD Vance described the truce as “fragile”.
