Starmer hopes to establish key diplomatic role for Britain as he heads to the Gulf

Starmer hopes to establish key diplomatic role for Britain as he heads to the Gulf Submitted by Imran Mulla on Wed, 04/08/2026 - 10:50 British prime minister to 'discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the ceasefire' on three-day trip Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a meeting to discuss the US-Israeli conflict with Iran and the impact on the Strait of Hormuz, inside 10 Downing Street in London on 30 March 2026 (AFP) Off British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting the Gulf in a bid to work on unblocking the Strait of Hormuz after the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. Starmer is expected to "discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the ceasefire" on a three-day trip to the Middle East, Downing Street announced.  The prime minister said on Wednesday morning: "I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world. "Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz." Britain hosted a summit last Thursday aimed at forming an international coalition to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but key countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan, did not attend. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were the only Middle Eastern countries joining the initiative, which was also joined by France, Australia, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan.  It is not clear which countries in the Gulf Starmer will visit.  Starmer said last week the UK aimed to "make the Strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped". Iran closed the crucial waterway - through which 20 percent of the world's oil and gas flowed - in early March in response to the US-Israeli attack on the country.  Over the coming days, the US and Iran are set to negotiate a 10-point Iranian proposal which includes a guarantee of continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Tehran will allow two weeks of "safe passage" through the strait while negotiations are ongoing.  Iran is expected to charge a toll of at least $1 per barrel to ships passing through the strait, to be paid in Chinese yuan or a cryptocurrency. A diplomatic role for Britain Over the past few weeks, Starmer has sought to establish a prominent diplomatic role for Britain as he has been repeatedly attacked by US President Donald Trump for not helping enough with the war on Iran. Starmer was initially reluctant to allow the US to use British bases to attack Iran, but Britain ultimately agreed the US could use them to target Iranian missile sites and - as of nearly three weeks ago - for attacks intended to open the Straight of Hormuz. Along with other European countries, however, Britain dismissed Trump's demand in mid-March that Nato allies send warships to the waterway to help reopen it - even after the president threatened that the alliance faced a "very bad" future if its member states failed to help. The UK's initiative marks an attempt to move closer to Europe and to strengthen its ties with Gulf allies in response to the country's deteriorating relationship with the US.  UAE and Bahrain only Middle East states joining UK coalition to pressure Iran over Hormuz Read More » Gulf states, like Britain, have been considering strategies for the reopening of the strait away from the US designs.  But since only the UAE and Bahrain have cooperated with the British scheme, it is unclear whether Starmer can build a broad coalition with key countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. Starmer is not expected to visit Israel during his time in the Middle East, which would have been expected of a British prime minister in the past.  This is a significant indicator of just how far diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel have deteriorated in the past two years. Although Britain cooperated militarily with Israel during its genocide in Gaza, and the Israeli president was hosted in London in late 2025, it is understood that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be welcome in the UK because of the International Criminal Court's warrant out for his arrest.  And relations have become even more strained as a result of Starmer's lack of enthusiasm for the US-Israeli war on Iran. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0