British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that the United Kingdom will not support the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which roughly 20% of global oil supplies pass) announced by US President Donald Trump. Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Starmer said keeping the strait open was "vital" for global energy prices, warning that disruption to oil and gas flows would push up household energy bills. Australia has also distanced itself from the blockade, with Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy stating that no request had been received and that the government was not considering joining any offensive action, even as the navy confirmed its ships were technically capable of contributing to an international effort to reopen the waterway.
Mosaic News
UK rules out joining US blockade of Strait of Hormuz as global pressure mounts[Updated]
China has sharpened its rhetoric on the crisis, with Beijing formally labelling the US blockade a "dangerous and irresponsible move" and calling on both Washington and Tehran to honour the existing ceasefire. Chinese officials also explicitly denied providing military aid to Iran, and warned that Beijing would retaliate if Trump moves to raise tariffs against China over allegations of supporting Tehran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday amid the escalating standoff.
Pope Leo XIV has also waded into the dispute, saying aboard the papal plane to Algeria that he has "no intention to debate" with Trump after the US president attacked him on Truth Social as "terrible" for foreign policy and "weak" on nuclear weapons, following the pope's call for peace and his warning against "delusion of omnipotence." European stock markets fell sharply on Monday, with Spain's IBEX 35 dropping 1.2 percent below 18,000 points, Frankfurt losing 1.25 percent, and Paris falling nearly 1 percent, while Brent crude surged 6.6 percent to $101.52 a barrel and European natural gas prices jumped 8.6 percent. OPEC published its monthly oil market report on Monday — the first to include estimates of the war's impact on crude supplies — as the blockade took effect at 2pm GMT.
France, Spain, Turkey, and China have also condemned the US blockade plan, broadening the international backlash beyond the UK and Australia. US Central Command moved to scale back Trump's initial threat, clarifying that the blockade would apply only to vessels entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas — not all traffic transiting the strait — though analysts warn the move would still remove roughly two million barrels of Iranian oil per day from global markets. Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel following the announcement. Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that any military vessels approaching the strait would be considered a ceasefire breach, while an Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson called the restrictions on vessels in international waters illegal and tantamount to piracy.