Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz despite Donald Trump ceasefire deal
Iran has continued to stop oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ceasefire deal agreed with the US.
US President Donald Trump had threatened to obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges if a deal could not be reached to reopen the route to shipping, but less than two hours before his deadline he said a ceasefire had been agreed.
Sir Keir Starmer said there was a “sense of real relief”, but a lot of work still needed to be done to make the peace deal last and restore oil and gas supplies through the Strait.
The Prime Minister, who was visiting an air base in Saudi Arabia yesterday, said he wanted to ensure the economic impact of the war was minimised by getting the strait open again.
He said there was still work to do to ensure “this ceasefire should be not a temporary ceasefire but a permanent ceasefire”.
He added: “On top of that, we have to acknowledge that this war was not our war, but my job is to protect the UK.
“It’s already had an impact on the UK, and it’s very important we get the Strait of Hormuz open. There’s a lot of work to do there.”
However, less than an hour after Sir Keir’s comments, it emerged that Iran was continuing to block ships from using the Strait of Hormuz.
The BBC confirmed that a message was put out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to all ships in the Gulf.
It said: “Transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and you need permission from the IRGC before sailing through the strait.
“Any vessel trying to travel into the sea will be targeted and destroyed.”
Iranian state media said this was based on continued attacks by Israel on Lebanon, which the Israeli Defence Force had claimed was outside the ceasefire agreement.
The deal announced late on Tuesday night triggered a fall in global oil prices and stock markets rallied after weeks of economic turmoil.
However, it remains to be seen how long it will take to reopen the Strait, with Iran appearing to operate a toll system for tankers to go through.
Petrol and diesel costs for motorists in the UK rose sharply after Mr Trump launched his military action.
The average price of diesel was 190.6p yesterday morning, up 34 per cent since February 28 when the US-Israeli campaign began, while average unleaded prices reached 157.7p, up 19 per cent, the RAC said.