Iran cannot ‘hijack’ strait of Hormuz with shipping tolls, says Yvette Cooper – UK politics live | Politics
important events
Cooper said he was ‘deeply disturbed’ by Israel’s increasing attacks in Lebanon
Yvette CooperThe Foreign Secretary told Sky News this morning that he was “deeply disturbed” by Israel’s ongoing air strikes in Lebanon. He said:
I am deeply concerned about the increasing Israeli attacks in Lebanon yesterday. We have seen the humanitarian consequences, the mass displacement of people in Lebanon.
Yvette Cooper says Iran ‘cannot take over’ Strait of Hormuz with shipping fees
Good morning. Keir Starmer is still in the Gulf and Yvette CooperThe Foreign Secretary is doing a series of interviews this morning before making a speech on foreign policy this evening.
Like Jamie Grierson According to reports, Cooper strongly advocates that Lebanon should be included in the US-Iran ceasefire.
However cooper He also seeks to rebut suggestions that, as part of a permanent solution, Iran could be allowed to charge $2 million in shipping fees to oil tankers seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Rather worryingly, Donald Trump even suggested that the US might be part of it: As a “joint venture” with Iran.
In an interview on the Today programme, Cooper made clear that charging a fee for passage through the strait would be unacceptable to the UK.
He said:
The starting point here is; This is an international transit route. It is international shipping that uses this. This is part of international maritime law. This is a road across the high seas; It is a trade route.
When asked about Iran’s view that these waters are territorial waters and not international waters, Cooper said:
As part of international maritime law, this is a transit route between the high seas.
Whether you’re talking about Dover, Gibraltar or other straits around the world, there may be territorial waters there, but there’s also an international shipping route and an international transit route; This means that the principles of freedom of navigation apply and countries cannot simply seize such international transit routes and impose tolls unilaterally. They cannot do this due to maritime laws and United Nations conventions.
Cooper said protecting freedom of navigation in the strait is “vital for the global economy.”
I’ll be posting more of his interviews soon.
Here is the agenda of the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer is expected to meet with president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates. He plans another bilateral meeting later in the day and is recording an interview with ITV’s Robert Peston.
10.30: Greens leader Zack Polanski is launching his party’s local election campaign with an event in London.
11am: Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth announced his party’s manifesto for the Senedd election at an event in Wrexham.
Morning: Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is making a campaign visit to Greater Manchester.
If you would like to contact me, please send a message below the line or send a message on social media during comments open hours (between 10:00 – 15:00). I can’t read all messages BTL, but if you type “Andrew” in a message addressed to me, I’m more likely to see it because I’m looking for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something urgently, it’s best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from their official account on
I find it very helpful for readers to point out errors, even minor typos. No mistake is too small to be corrected. I also find your questions very interesting. I can’t promise to respond to them all, but I will try to respond as much as I can, either on BTL or sometimes on the blog.
