UK denies Trump claims to join US blockade of Strait of Hormuz today

The British warship, HMS Dragon, which can launch eight missiles in less than 10 seconds. (doc. Royal Navy-MOD)

JAKARTA - Britain will not send its warships to help the US completely block ships entering and leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Iran's permission.

Bloomberg on Monday, April 13, quoted a source related to this matter as saying that Britain would not participate in the blockade.

Britain has refused to have its navy ships and troops involved in US military operations to block the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday, April 12, the British government responded to US President Donald Trump stating that his country would continue to call for freedom of navigation and the opening of the world's strategic energy routes but would not join the US in completely blocking ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz.

"We continue to support freedom of navigation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is essential to support the global economy and living costs at home," a British government spokesman said, quoted by the BBC, Sunday, April 12.

This is a new chapter in US President Donald Trump's dispute with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer regarding the conflict in Iran. Starmer previously rejected Trump's call to engage in the US-Israeli war against Iran which lasted for 40 days.

A strategic waterway that is important for global energy supply, the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf or Middle East region. (PHOTO MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC via Wikimedia Commons)

Previously, Trump claimed that NATO countries, including the UK, had offered assistance to the US's intention to blockade the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian security.

Trump made the claim after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan stalled until Sunday morning, April 2.

"We have mine-sweeping ships there. Now we have a very sophisticated underwater mine-sweeping ship, the latest and greatest, but we're also bringing in more traditional mine-sweeping ships. And so I understand ... Britain and some other countries are sending mine-sweeping ships," Trump told Fox News.

Trump intends to block ships in the Strait of Hormuz starting today, Monday, April 13.