British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from US President Donald Trump to deploy British warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently blocked to commercial shipping amid a rapidly escalating conflict with Iran.
The crisis follows a dramatic escalation in the Middle East after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
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Iran has since vowed to shut down the strategic waterway, one of the world’s most important oil routes.
“Any vessel whose oil cargo or the vessel itself belongs to the United States, the Zionist regime or their hostile allies will be considered legitimate targets,” Iran’s central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state television.
Despite Washington’s push to assemble an international naval force to secure the passage, key US allies appear reluctant to take part.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Starmer’s government is not prepared to send British naval vessels into the strait.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said London is “intensively looking” at what could be done to help reopen the route, including deploying unmanned systems to search for naval mines, but stopped short of committing to a warship deployment.
Other allies are also holding back. France, Germany and South Korea have likewise declined to send naval vessels, amid concerns the conflict could drag on indefinitely.
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