Cooper refuses to say if US is still an ally as she vows to do everything possible to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Yvette Cooper sidestepped questions about whether the US was still an ally, saying Britain and other nations would use “every possible measure” to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The Foreign Secretary spoke after discussing potential sanctions with allies that would “collapse Iran” if the waterway, which is critical to the world’s oil supplies, remains blockaded.
He chaired a meeting of more than 40 countries to combat what he described as Iran’s “reckless” attacks on a vital shipping lane that has left 2,000 ships stranded.
But a day after Rachel Reeves expressed anger at Donald Trump over the Iran war, she dodged a question about whether Washington was still an ally, saying only: “We want to see the conflict resolved as quickly as possible because, frankly, that’s what’s best for the cost of living here in the UK.”
Tehran blocked the canal in retaliation for a month-long US-Israeli campaign against it, causing global oil prices to rise.
In a statement following Thursday’s virtual meeting, Ms Cooper warned that the shutdown was a “direct threat to global prosperity” while speaking of the “determination” of the international community.
“Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not win,” he warned.
The group called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait and argued that possible sanctions against Iran would otherwise be “devastating”.
In the face of President Trump’s sustained criticism of the UK over Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to take part in the attack on Iran and his insistence that the UK would not be drawn into a wider war, Ms Cooper said “our job is to make decisions in the UK’s national interest”.
He added: “That’s what this government will do, not based on any other country’s priorities or anything on the part of the US or other countries, but actually based on what is in the national interest of the UK.”
Ms Cooper told the meeting there had been more than 25 attacks on ships in the strait and there were “approximately 20,000 sailors stranded on approximately 2,000 ships”.
Another meeting of military planners next Tuesday will consider “how to keep shipping safe in the long term,” including clearing mines possibly laid by Tehran to sink ships in sea transit, Ms. Cooper said.
The meeting will be convened by Britain’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, northwest London, but some international leaders are expected to attend virtually.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said countries relying on the strait needed to “develop some delayed courage” and “just catch up,” and suggested the critical waterway would “naturally open up” after the Iran conflict ends.
But the prime minister warned that clearing the lane’s congestion “won’t be easy”.
French President Emmanuel Macron went further on Thursday, telling reporters that forcibly reopening the Strait of Hormuz was “unrealistic.”
