British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that the United Kingdom will not support the United States’ announced blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a move that has drawn criticism from other US allies as well. Speaking to BBC radio on Monday, Starmer said, ‘We are not supporting the blockade.’ He also emphasized that the UK is not getting dragged into the US-Israel war on Iran.

Strait of Hormuz Remains a Vital Global Waterway

Starmer highlighted the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which, in peacetime, carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies. ‘It is in my view vital that we get the strait open and fully open,’ he said, adding that the UK has focused its efforts on this goal in recent weeks and will continue to do so.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London, noted that Starmer has been maintaining a delicate balancing act. He has stated the UK will not join the conflict while carefully avoiding direct criticism of President Donald Trump’s actions in the war.

US Announces Blockade of Iranian Ports

The US military announced on Monday that it would block all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports starting at 14:00 GMT. However, it remained unclear how the US military would enforce the blockade. According to the US military’s Central Command, the blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

US forces, however, would not impede vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, the statement said. Meanwhile, Trump, in a lengthy social media post on Sunday, stated his goal was to clear the strait of mines and reopen it to all shipping. He added that Iran must not be allowed to profit from controlling the waterway.

International Response to US Blockade

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and the UK would hold a conference in the coming days aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait. Macron reiterated that no diplomatic effort should be spared in reaching a lasting end to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Nicole Grajewski, assistant professor at the Center for International Research at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, said a US blockade was ‘not a minor coercive signal’ but could rather be considered essentially a resumption of the war. Other US allies also criticized Trump’s move, including Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles, who said the planned naval blockade ‘makes no sense.’

‘It’s one more episode in this whole downward spiral into which we’ve been dragged,’ she said. Fellow NATO ally Turkey said the Strait of Hormuz should open ‘as soon as possible.’ Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the state-run Anadolu news agency that negotiations with Iran should be conducted, persuasion methods should be used, and the strait should be opened as soon as possible.

China, Washington’s great power rival and a big importer of Iranian oil, also criticized the plan. ‘The Strait of Hormuz is an important international trade route for goods and energy, and maintaining its security, stability and unimpeded flow is in the common interest of the international community,’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said, urging Iran and the US not to reignite the war.

Meanwhile, traffic through the strait has been heavily restricted since the start of the war. Iran has allowed through only some vessels serving friendly countries, such as China. Starmer made his statement as the US military announced its blockade, adding that the UK is committed to diplomatic efforts to keep the strait open.