𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

British Armed Forces will not take part in Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Daily Express understands. The US President said “other countries” will join the operation. But this will not include Royal Navy Warships or British aircraft, it is understood.

A Government spokesperson said: “We continue to support freedom of navigation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed to support the global economy and the cost of living back home.

“The Strait of Hormuz must not be subject to tolling.”

“We are urgently working with France and other partners to put together a wide coalition to protect freedom of navigation.”

It comes as diplomatic tensions between London and Washington continue to thaw.

Donald Trump criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on Washington’s war against Iran, comparing the Prime Minister to Neville Chamberlain – whose premiership was defined by his 1930s appeasement of Adolf Hitler.

“Nato is shameful,” the US president told Fox News.

“I mean, look at the United Kingdom… PM Starmer said `we’ll send the equipment after the war is over’.

“I said `you don’t need equipment when the war is over. You need the equipment before the war starts, or during the war’…

“He made a public statement that `we will send equipment after the war is over’, that’s a Neville Chamberlain statement.”

Mr Trump said the US would “immediately” blockade the Strait of Hormuz in a furious rant on Sunday after peace talks between America and Iran collapsed.

The US President aimed to gain strategic control over the waterway responsible for transporting 20% of global oil supplies before the war, in an attempt to strip Iran of its primary economic advantage in the conflict.

He said he had “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”

Trump also said that the US was prepared to “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment,” in a post on social media, emphasising that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the heart of the failure to end the war.

Direct talks collapsed earlier Sunday after 21 hours, casting doubt on a fragile two-week ceasefire.

US officials claimed the negotiations fell apart due to what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon, while Iranian officials blamed the US for the breakdown of the talks without specifying the sticking points.

Neither side indicated what would happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain the truce. Both sides asserted their positions were clear and placed the responsibility on the other, highlighting how little progress had been made during the talks.

“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vice President JD Vance said following the talks.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s Parliament Speaker who led the country’s negotiations, stated that it was time for the United States “to decide whether it can gain our trust or not.”

He did not address the central disputes in a series of social media posts, although Iranian officials had previously claimed that the talks broke down over two or three key issues, attributing this to what they termed US overreach.

Iran has consistently denied pursuing nuclear weapons but has asserted its right to a civilian nuclear programme. It has made “affirmative commitments” in writing in the past, including in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal of which the UK was a signatory.

Experts suggest its stockpile of enriched uranium, while not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away from being bomb ready.

The comments came as Sir Keir Starmer called on the US and Iran “to find a way through” following the collapse of peace talks, while also appealing for the fragile ceasefire to continue and cautioning against any further escalation.

The Prime Minister discussed the negotiations between Washington and Tehran with the Sultan of Oman after the talks fell through.

A Downing Street spokeswoman provided a summary of Sir Keir’s conversation with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said, stating: “They discussed the peace talks held in Pakistan over the weekend and urged both sides to find a way through.

“It was vital there was a continuation of the ceasefire, and that all parties avoided any further escalation, the leaders agreed.”

They also discussed efforts to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping lane, which has been effectively shut down by Iran’s control, causing energy prices to skyrocket.

Britain is set to host further discussions next week with a coalition of countries on reopening this maritime chokepoint.

According to the call summary: “His majesty updated on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Prime Minister thanked him for Oman’s efforts to rescue sailors from vessels in distress in the region.

“Reflecting on international efforts to co-ordinate safe passage for shipping in the region, the Prime Minister said that following meetings convened by the Foreign Secretary and British military planners, partners continued to work towards restoring freedom of navigation for the long term.”

The meeting next week is expected to explore ways to support a sustainable end to the conflict and to ramp up international diplomatic pressure on Iran to reopen the strait, according to an official familiar with the planning.

This includes considering coordinated economic and political measures, such as sanctions, and collaborating with the International Maritime Organisation to secure the release of thousands of ships and sailors trapped in the strait.

It would be the third meeting this month hosted by Britain regarding this issue, following a virtual meeting of more than 40 nations convened by the Foreign Secretary and a gathering of allied military officers.

The Prime Minister travelled to the Gulf this week for discussions with allies on how to support what he characterised as a “fragile” ceasefire.

Gulf states have borne the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign against it, with thousands of Iranian missiles and drones striking US military installations and energy infrastructure across the region.

Meanwhile, hours before the US President’s social media posts, Health Secretary Wes Streeting slammed Trump’s “incendiary, provocative, outrageous” language amid deteriorating trans-Atlantic relations, and described the collapse of US-Iran peace talks as “disappointing”.

The Health Secretary accused the US President of employing “rhetoric which people might find shocking”, but said ministers have learnt to distinguish between what he “says and what he does”.

Mr Streeting told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “Over the course of the last week, President Trump has said some pretty bold – in Yes minister language – incendiary, provocative, outrageous things on social media.

“I think we’ve all come to learn that you judge President Trump through what he does, not just what he says.”

Since the US and Israel initiated the war on February 28, it has resulted in at least 3,000 fatalities in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and over a dozen in Gulf Arab states, as well as causing lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries; 13 American soldiers have also been killed.

Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has largely severed the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, leading to skyrocketing energy prices.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced that his country will attempt to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the US in the forthcoming days.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to cease fire,” Dar said.

“Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but it has the right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” Tehran said, repeating Iran’s longstanding negotiating stance.

There was no update on whether talks would resume, although Iran indicated it was open to continuing the dialogue, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.