Britain is hosting an international summit on reopening the Strait of Hormuz today – but the US is not attending.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is convening the virtual meeting with around 35 countries including France, Germany and some Gulf states.
The talks come after Donald Trump again demanded other nations take responsibility for the crucial channel, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.
The Strait has been effectively blockaded by Iran since the US and Israel launched the war. The passage is almost impossible to control without having forces on Iranian territory because it is so narrow.
Despite Mr Trump wildly veering towards threats to ‘obliterate’ Iran if they do not reopen the Strait and ordering erstwhile allies to act, there appears no prospect of other countries stepping in militarily while the ‘hot’ war continues.
Following the UK-led meeting at lunchtime, military planners will consider how to make the strait ‘accessible and safe’ after the fighting has stopped.
But that is not expected to involve the deployment of Royal Navy warships to police the waterway.
Keir Starmer has been attempting to reassure anxious Britons that the Government has a plan to deal with the looming consequences of surging oil and gas prices.
Fertiliser and aluminium supplies are also being crippled by the closure of the Strait, with knock-on impacts on food and a bewildering variety of goods.
Mr Trump has threatened to pull the US out of Nato as he vented fury at the UK, France and other allies for not joining his attacks on Iran.
It is far from clear he can do that, with a law having been passed in 2023 dictating that the Senate would need to approve such a move.
He did not mention the future of the military alliance in his address to the American people last night – which sent Brent Crude prices rocketing again.
Mr Trump said: ‘The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily.
‘We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.
‘So to those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves.’
He continued: ‘I have a suggestion. Number one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much, and number two, build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us as we asked, go to the strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.
‘Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy.
‘And in any event. When this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally.
‘It’ll just open up naturally. They’re going to want to be able to sell oil, because that’s all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down.’
Nato was founded in 1949, with the signing of the Washington Treaty in the US capital, to counter the risk of an attack by the Soviet Union and has been the cornerstone of the security of the West.
Its membership has grown to 32 nations including European countries, the US and Canada.
Under Article 5 of the treaty each member nation pledges that an armed attack against one ‘shall be considered an attack against them all.’
Nato has invoked Article 5 only once, the day after America was attacked on 9/11. It led the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan until 2014.
