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United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that Britain will not participate in the U.S.-led naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by President Donald Trump.
“We are not supporting the blockade,” Starmer told BBC radio, adding that the U.K. “is not getting dragged in” to the war with Iran.
Asked whether Trump bore responsibility for the impact of the crisis on British energy prices, Starmer declined to answer directly and said the “single most important thing” was to bring countries together to push for de-escalation and the reopening of the strait.
He added that Iran bears responsibility for restricting traffic through the Gulf.
British media earlier reported that London would not take part in the blockade following Trump’s announcement.
“We 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,” a U.K. government spokesperson said, according to Sky News.
“The Strait of Hormuz must not be subject to tolling,” the spokesperson added.
The official said London is “urgently working” with France and other partners to build a broader coalition aimed at safeguarding freedom of navigation.
Trump had earlier claimed Britain was sending minesweepers to help clear the strait.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said multiple countries would assist the United States in enforcing the blockade after weekend talks with Tehran in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement.
“Well, we’re going to be blockading. It’ll take a little while, but it’ll be effective pretty soon,” Trump said.
“We think that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this also, but we’re putting on a complete blockade. We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don’t like,” he added.
Trump said Gulf states were already helping with the effort, though he did not specify which countries.
He also said the U.S. and partner countries would deploy minesweepers to clear mines allegedly laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump announced that the blockade on Iranian ports would take effect at 2 p.m. GMT on Monday.
The move came after Washington and Tehran held rare direct talks in Islamabad over the weekend aimed at ending the war that began on Feb. 28, but the negotiations ended without a deal.
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