British Armed Forces will NOT join Donald Trump’s blockade | Politics | News

The Daily Express understands that the British Armed Forces will not take part in Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The US President said that “other countries will also participate” in the operation. However, it is understood this will not include Royal Navy Battleships or British aircraft.

A Government spokesman said: “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 at home.

“The Strait of Hormuz should not be subject to tax”

“We are urgently working with France and other partners to build a broad coalition to protect freedom of navigation.”

This comes as diplomatic tensions between London and Washington continue to thaw.

Donald Trump Sir Keir Starmer criticized the Prime Minister’s handling of Washington’s war on Iran, likening him to Neville Chamberlain, whose premiership was defined by his appeasement of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

“NATO is a shame,” the US president told Fox News.

“I mean, look at the UK… Prime Minister Starmer said, ‘We will send the equipment after the war is over.’

“I said, ‘You don’t need equipment when the war is over. You need equipment before the war starts or during the war’…

“He made a public statement saying, ‘We will send equipment after the war is over,’ which is a Neville Chamberlain statement.”

Mr Trump shouted angrily on Sunday after peace talks between America and Iran collapsed, saying the US would “immediately” blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The US President sought to gain strategic control over the waterway, which was responsible for transporting 20% ​​of global oil supplies before the war, in order to deprive Iran of its main economic advantage in the conflict.

He said that he “instructed our Navy to search and interdict any ship paying tolls to Iran in International Waters. Anyone paying illegal tolls will not have the right to safe passage on the high seas.”

Trump also said in his post on social media that the United States is ready to “finish” Iran “at the appropriate time” and emphasized that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions lie at the root of the failure to end the war.

Direct talks collapsed after 21 hours early Sunday, casting doubt on a fragile two-week ceasefire.

U.S. officials claimed the talks failed because of what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning the path to nuclear weapons, while Iranian officials blamed the United States for the breakdown in talks without specifying the sticking points.

Neither side has specified what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire ends on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain the ceasefire. Both sides maintained their positions were clear, placing blame on the other and underlining how little progress had been made in the talks.

“We need to see a positive commitment that they will not seek nuclear weapons and will not seek the means to quickly obtain nuclear weapons,” Vice President J.D. Vance said after the talks. he said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is leading the negotiations in the country, stated that it was time for the United States to “decide whether it can earn our trust.”

Although Iranian officials have previously claimed that the talks broke down over two or three key issues, which they attributed to what they called excessive US interference.

Iran has consistently denied having nuclear weapons but has asserted its right to have a civilian nuclear program. He had made “positive commitments” in writing in the past; This includes the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which the UK also signed.

Experts suggest that the stockpile of enriched uranium is only a short technical step away from being bomb-ready, though not at weapons-grade level.

The comments came as Sir Keir Starmer called on the US and Iran to “find a way out” after peace talks collapsed, while also calling for the fragile ceasefire to continue and warning against further escalation of any truce.

The Prime Minister met with the Sultan of Oman after talks between Washington and Tehran failed.

Providing a summary of Sir Keir’s meeting with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said, a Downing Street spokesman said: “They discussed peace talks held in Pakistan at the weekend and called on both sides to find a solution.

“The leaders agreed that it was vital for the ceasefire to continue and that it was vital for all parties to avoid further escalation.”

Also discussed were efforts to reopen the important Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping lane, which has been effectively closed by Iranian control, causing energy prices to soar.

Britain will host further talks with a coalition of countries on reopening this maritime chokepoint next week.

According to the call summary: “His Majesty briefed him on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Prime Minister thanked him for Oman’s efforts to rescue sailors from ships in distress in the region.

“Referring to international efforts to coordinate the safe passage of shipping in the region, the Prime Minister said that following meetings held by the Foreign Secretary and British military planners, partners continue to work to restore freedom of navigation in the long term.”

The meeting next week is expected to explore ways to support a sustainable end to the conflict and increase international diplomatic pressure on Iran to reopen the strait, according to an official familiar with the planning.

This includes considering coordinated economic and political measures, such as sanctions, and cooperating with the International Maritime Organization to ensure the release of thousands of ships and sailors stranded in the strait.

This will be the third meeting the UK has hosted on this issue this month, following a virtual meeting of more than 40 countries called by the Foreign Secretary and a meeting of allied officers.

The prime minister traveled to the Gulf this week to talk with allies about how to support what he described as a “fragile” ceasefire.

Gulf states bore the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign against it; Thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have hit US military facilities and energy infrastructure in the region.

Meanwhile, hours before the US President’s social media posts, Health Secretary Wes Streeting harshly criticized Trump’s “provocative, provocative, ugly” language amid deteriorating trans-Atlantic relations and described the collapse of US-Iran peace talks as “disappointment”.

The Health Secretary accused the US President of using “rhetoric that people might find shocking”, but said ministers had learned to distinguish between “what he says and what he does”.

Mr Streeting told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Over the last week President Trump has said some quite bold – in Yes minister language – provocative, incendiary, outrageous things on social media.

“I think we’ve all come to learn that you judge President Trump by what he does, not just what he says.”

Since the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28, it has resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab countries, and has caused permanent damage to the infrastructure of half a dozen Middle Eastern countries; Additionally, 13 American soldiers were killed.

Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, causing energy prices to soar.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishak Dar announced that his country will try to facilitate the establishment of a new dialogue between Iran and the USA in the coming days.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to maintain their determination to cease fire,” Dar said. he said.

Tehran repeated Iran’s long-standing position in the negotiations, saying, “Iran is not seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, but has the right to possess nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.” he said.

According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, there was no update on whether the talks would continue, although Iran has said it is open to resuming dialogue.