As Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, the United Kingdom is hosting virtual talks with about 40 countries to discuss strategies to reopen this critical waterway, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped from Gulf producers in peacetime.
Iran, whose territorial waters extend into the strait, has blocked it to shipping since the United States and Israeli regimes launched the war on Iran with strikes on Tehran on February 28. Its blockade has sent global oil prices soaring above $100 per barrel – a jump of roughly 40 percent from before the war – forcing countries, particularly in Asia, to ration fuel and cut industrial production. On Thursday, Malaysia ordered all civil servants to work from home in a bid to conserve energy.
The US regime is not taking part in these talks, after Trump said this week that it was not its responsibility to reopen the strait. He told European countries to “go get your own oil”. The video conference meeting chaired by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper began at midday (11:00 GMT) on Thursday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a news conference on Wednesday that those countries which recently signed a statement saying they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz” would take part in this week’s talks.
France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates are among them. European nations had initially refused to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, fearing they would be dragged into the war. But as the war continues and oil and gas prices spike globally, EU nations have decided to join the UK’s coalition to reopen the strait, an EU official told the Reuters news agency.
Ahead of the talks, Starmer said countries would “assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities”. He added: “Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped.” The UK government said any plan to reopen the strait will also include ensuring the maritime waterway is free of landmines, as well as a second phase to involve protecting tankers as they cross the area.
Christopher Featherstone, associate lecturer at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York, told Al Jazeera that a crucial component of this summit is to signal that other nations, besides the US, are committed to acting diplomatically to get things back to normal. “Starmer is clearly trying to signal commitment to the US-UK relationship to Trump, showing the UK can lead some European allies,” he said. “However, he is also signalling to Iran and the rest of the world that these nations are not acquiescing to Trump’s demands either,” Featherstone added.
Since the war began, Iran has demanded international recognition of its right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz as one of its five conditions for calling a ceasefire. It has allowed only a handful of vessels from countries it deems “friendly” to pass through the strait since early March – mostly those flying flags of India, Pakistan, Malaysia and China. Other nations are also scrambling to strike deals with Iran to secure safe passage for their vessels. Last week, Iranian media reported that the country’s parliament is seeking to pass legislation to collect tolls from ships transiting the strait.
Source: www.aljazeera.com