UK-led coalition of 40 countries vows action on Hormuz Strait gridlock

British PM Keir Starmer stresses non-military solutions ahead of a coalition meeting to ease gridlock in the vital Strait of Hormuz.The United Kingdom is gathering foreign ministers from 40 countries to discuss options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by the United States and Israel’s war against Iran.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the virtual summit on Thursday, chaired by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures” to restore the waterway.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump tells allies ‘get your own oil’, says Iran war could end in 2-3 weekslist 2 of 4What can nations do to make up for the ongoing energy shortfall?list 3 of 4UK to host meeting of 35 countries on reopening Strait of Hormuzlist 4 of 4Pakistan-bound ships pass through Strait of Hormuzend of listIran’s retaliatory attacks on commercial ships, and the threat of more, have halted nearly all traffic in the strait that connects the Gulf to the rest of the globe’s oceans, shutting a critical path for the world’s flow of oil and sending petroleum prices soaring.The US is not among the countries attending the meeting, which comes after US President Donald Trump stated that securing the waterway is not his country’s job.Trump has also disparaged the US’s European allies for failing to support the war and renewed his threats to pull the US out of NATO.The countries participating in Thursday’s summit, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates, have signed a statement demanding that Iran stop its attempts to block the strait and pledging to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the waterway.The meeting is considered a first step, to be followed by “working-level meetings” of officials to hammer out details.“On the plus side, this is a broad coalition. It’s not just Western, it’s not just NATO. It involves countries [like] the UK, France, the Scandinavian countries, Baltic countries, but it also involves Bahrain, it involves the UAE, it involves Panama, it involves Nigeria,” said Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London.