The UK will not participate in any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, contrary to claims by US President Donald Trump that Nato allies, including Britain, would assist in closing the waterway. The Guardian understands that while the UK has considered a role in mine-removal operations to ensure safe passage, this is distinct from Trump’s blockade proposal, which Downing Street sees as potentially escalating the crisis.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that “numerous countries are going to be helping us” and that “it won’t take long to clean out the strait,” adding that the UK and other nations were sending minesweepers. However, a UK government spokesperson said Britain would 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 spokesperson added: “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 with European allies, Gulf partners, and the US to create a “credible, viable plan” for reopening the strait after Iran blocked traffic. He also urged the US and Iran “to find a way through” after peace talks failed over the weekend, and called for the ceasefire to continue following a conversation with the Sultan of Oman on Sunday morning.
The comments came as Trump again compared Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, the former prime minister criticised for appeasing Adolf Hitler. Health Secretary Wes Streeting dismissed Trump’s rhetoric as “incendiary, provocative and outrageous,” but said the UK should judge the US president by his actions. Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned that the war in Iran would “come at a cost to British families and businesses,” writing in the Sunday Times that her economic approach would be “responsive to a changing world and responsible in the national interest.”
