Britain rejects Trump's call to help the US send warships to the Strait of Hormuz

JAKARTA - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that Britain would work with allied countries to draw up a plan to reopen international shipping, including tankers supplying the world's energy through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Starmer stressed that Britain would not be involved in a potentially widening war in the Middle East as a result of the Israeli-US aggression against Iran.

"In the end, we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the market," Starmer said at a press conference in the UK, Monday, March 16, quoted by NBC News.

Starmer said Britain had been in contact with countries in the Middle East and partners in Europe to "restore freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.

"It's not an easy task," Starmer continued.

Previously, Trump on Saturday last week asked France, Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea to China to send their warships to control the Strait of Hormuz.

The situation in the Middle East or the Gulf is boiling after the US-Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran since Saturday, February 28.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran has killed more than 1,000 people, including Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military officials, and more than 150 female students.

The US-Israel also carried out a preliminary attack on public infrastructure targets in Iran such as drinking water refineries, oil refineries, and banking offices, resulting in Iranian retaliation targeting Israeli oil refineries in Haifa and US-Israeli assets in the Middle East.

Iran has also imposed a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.