Revealed: Conversation Between UK Prime Minister and Donald Trump on the Strait of Hormuz
Prime Minister (PM) Keir Starmer reportedly telephoned US President Donald Trump to discuss the Middle East conflict. Their conversation also addressed the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz in Iran.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, the leaders’ discussion on Sunday (22/3) evening agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is crucial to ensure stability in the global energy market. This is because traffic through the strait has slowed by around 95% since the Iran war began on 28 February.
Starmer is reportedly set to lead an emergency Cobra meeting, attended by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. The Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer and Trump also agreed to speak again about the war’s impact on the cost of living.
As is known, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked the country on 28 February. Around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through this strait.
As a result of the closure, global fuel prices have surged following the war. Crude oil prices have risen 45% to $106 per barrel.
In a social media post on Saturday (21/3), Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours. That threat was countered by Teheran, which stated it would target US-related energy sites across the Gulf region if the US follows through on the threat.
Meanwhile, UK Housing Minister Steve Reed said the government has taken action on energy bills, including a £53 million package for households struggling with the sharp rise in heating oil prices. “There is no specific assessment that Iran is targeting the UK—or even capable of doing so if they wanted to,” he stated.
This comes after Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troops stated that Teheran possesses weapons capable of reaching up to 4,000 km (2,485 miles). It was previously revealed that Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, about 3,800 km from Iran.
However, Steve Reed declined to comment on how close those missiles come to UK overseas territories. According to him, Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, one of which failed and fell short of the target. The other, he said, was intercepted.
On Friday (19/3), the UK government allowed the US to use UK bases to launch attacks on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz. Previously, the UK had only permitted US forces to use those bases for defensive operations to prevent Iran from firing missiles deemed to endanger British interests or lives.