Keir Starmer insisted the UK will not be drawn into a ‘wider war’ in the Middle East today as he knocked back Donald Trump‘s call for warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Giving a press conference in Downing Street, the PM insisted he wanted to see ‘an end to this war as quickly as possible’.
He cautioned the situation would only get more dangerous and ‘worse for the cost of living back at home’ the longer it lasts, urging a ‘negotiated agreement’ with Iran.
The comments came after Mr Trump launched another swipe at Sir Keir over his reluctance to join attacks on Iran.
The premier had a tense call with the president last night, in which he is believed to have signalled Britain will not deploy warships to the Strait. France, Canada and Australia have also dismissed the prospect.
Instead, the UK is looking at sending anti-mine drones.
Around a fifth of global oil supplies pass through the channel, but it has been effectively closed by Iran – sending prices soaring and raising fears of a worldwide recession.
Mr Trump upped the ante overnight by linking the response to his demand for ships in the Strait to the future of Nato and support for Ukraine.
Ministers dismissed the remarks as ‘rhetoric’ this morning.
Giving a press conference in Downing Street , the PM insisted he wanted to see ‘an end to this war as quickly as possible’
Donald Trump questioned whether the UK was still the ‘number one ally’, as he warned America ‘will remember’ who supported the campaign
The president has previously branded the PM ‘no Churchill’ for refusing to join initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran a fortnight ago.
Speaking to the Financial Times after his call with Sir Keir, Mr Trump took aim at the Special Relationship again.
‘The UK might be considered the number one ally, the longest serving et cetera and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,’ he said.
‘And as soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ”oh well we’ll send two ships”, and I said, ”we need these ships before we win, not after we win”. I’ve long said that Nato is a one-way street.’
Mr Trump said: ‘It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there.
‘We have a thing called Nato,’ Trump said. ‘We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine… but we helped them.
‘Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there.’
He added: ‘If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of Nato.’
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Mr Trump said: ‘Whether we get support or not… I can say this and I said it to them – we will remember.’
The president previously insisted the US did not need any military assistance from allies such as Britain, accusing them of only turning up after the war was ‘won’.
In the past Mr Trump has questioned whether Nato countries would stand by the Article 5 commitment to collective defence, even though the only time the provision has been invoked was in response to the September 11 attacks.
Downing Street said ministers were ‘discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region’.
However, it appears Britain’s only immediate contribution to unblocking the strait will be autonomous underwater vehicles based in Bahrain which are untested in conflict situations.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Times Radio: ‘There’s a lot of rhetoric, always, in this presidency.
‘Underneath that, there is a good and close relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. I’m confident that will continue. We speak to one another all the time.
‘But that doesn’t mean that we will always have to support every intervention and every action that the United States chooses to take.’
