British PM Starmer pledges push to reopen Strait of Hormuz as Trump aims more barbs

LONDON - Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will coordinate a diplomatic push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the US-Israeli war with Iran threatens to derail economies around the world and fracture the transatlantic alliance.

Mr Starmer said Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper would chair a meeting later this week of 35 nations drawn from the Group of Seven, Europe and Gulf to press for a plan to get ships sailing back through the vital Middle Eastern waterway.

At the same time, he reaffirmed Britain’s desire not to be “dragged” into the military conflict.

“We will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities,” Mr Starmer said at a news briefing in London.

“We will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped.”

Mr Starmer’s made his remarks moments after US President Donald Trump launched a fresh salvo of criticism at American allies in Europe.

In an interview with the Telegraph, he dismissed NATO as a “paper tiger” and said Mr Starmer “can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly railed against European nations – and Britain in particular – for their refusal to get involved in the offensive against Iran.

Responding to those remarks, Mr Starmer said “NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO.” 

He said Britain must deepen its relationship with Europe, outlining plans for another summit with EU counterparts in the coming weeks that would seek to undo some of the “deep damage” done by Brexit. 

“It is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe, and with the European Union,” Mr Starmer said. “We want to be more ambitious.”

The prime minister sidestepped an initial chance to respond to Mr Trump’s criticism saying “the US and UK are close allies have been for a very, very long time.”

He did, however, allude to the “good deal of pressure” exerted on him by Mr Trump to change his position in relation to joining the war. 

Mr Starmer said he still didn’t feel like he needed to choose between the US and Europe. 

Nevertheless, the British premier has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union.

In February, he told the Munich Security Conference that Britain was no longer the country that voted for Brexit a decade ago.

Appearing on stage alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Starmer vowed to pursue tighter UK-EU relations on defence and trade “with some urgency.”

With the Middle East conflict stretching into its second month, Mr Starmer convened April 1’s press conference to spell out what Britain is doing to help ordinary Britons.

He noted that fuel duty has been frozen until September, but that he is “monitoring that situation daily”.

He also said the government’s response will depend on the length of the conflict and how quickly the Strait of Hormuz can be re-opened.

“No matter how fierce this storm, we are well place to weather it,” he said. “We have a long-term plan to emerge from it a stronger, a more secure nation.” BLOOMBERG