British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, with both leaders stressing the need to restore shipping through the vital waterway, Reuters reported, citing a Downing Street spokesperson.
"The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The prime minister also shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with French President Emmanuel Macron to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, the spokesperson added.
The call is the latest in a series of high-level diplomatic exchanges centered on the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran in February this year.
Nearly 20 per cent of the global supply of oil and gas normally moves through the Strait, and it is also a key passageway for other goods such as fertiliser, aluminium and helium. Its closure has sent energy prices surging globally and driven up the cost of living in Britain and across Europe.
Meanwhile, Starmer and Macron have been co-leading a multinational diplomatic effort to reopen the waterway.
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Macron, earlier, announced preparations for a "peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation" in the strait, with a conference to be convened together with Britain. Starmer has described the plan as "a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends."
Sunday's call with Trump marks a continuation of this diplomatic track. On April 10, Starmer had said he and Trump discussed assembling a political and diplomatic coalition for reopening the strait, and has since made a series of visits to Gulf states to build support.
Britain has stopped short of joining the US blockade of Iranian ports, with Starmer maintaining that London's focus remains on reopening the waterway rather than enforcing the blockade.
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Meanwhile, the stakes for Britain are immediate. With energy bills rising sharply, Starmer has framed restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as directly tied to the cost of living for ordinary British households — lending his diplomacy both international urgency and significant domestic political weight.
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