UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has said that there is “a lot of work to do” to make the US-Iran ceasefire permanent.
Speaking to broadcasters at the King Fahd Air Base in Taif, Saudi Arabia, Starmer acknowledged, “There’s work to do,” adding that it’s “early days.”
Starmer arrived in Saudi Arabia to meet leaders in the Gulf region to discuss diplomatic efforts to support the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran. The UK Prime Minister’s visit comes hours after a two-week ceasefire was agreed, cancelling a self-imposed deadline by the US President, Donald Trump, for Iran to surrender or face widespread destruction
He asserted that there is a real sense of relief at the base here in Saudi Arabia, saying, “for 39 days, they’ve been acting in our collective self-defence.”
“But what they want to know, what people in the United Kingdom want to know, who will share that relief, is that this needs to be permanent, and it’s our job to work with other countries in the region, not only on the cessation of possibilities, but also on opening the Strait of Hormuz. Because the impact on our energy prices, you can see it on a daily basis over the last 39 days, it’s our job to make sure that the strait is open, that we’re able to get the energy that the world needs out and stabilise the prices back in the United Kingdom.”
Keir Starmer
He iterated that UK is not getting drawn into this war. “We’ve always acted in collective self-defence, but my job is to protect the UK lives, of course, which is what we’ve been doing here from this place, but also to protect our interests and through our interests, our national interest, to get the Strait of Hormuz open,” he stressed.
Addressing British military personnel, Starmer thanked them for their work in the “collective self-defence of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom” but said there was more to do.
“We now, as you’ll have seen from the news, have a ceasefire, but there’s a lot of work to do, as you will appreciate, a lot of work to make sure that that ceasefire becomes permanent and brings about the peace that we all want to see.But also a lot of work to do in relation to the strait of Hormuz, which has an impact everywhere across the world.”
Keir Starmer
Starmer declined to criticise US President, Donald Trump directly but he implied that he thought Trump’s decision to wage war on Iran was deeply flawed.
Commenting on if his relationship with Trump was “in tatters,” Starmer remarked, “I’ve acted as you would expect of a British Prime Minister, which is by being absolutely focused on what is our national interest, and that’s why I’ve applied my principles and my values throughout.”
“And my principles and values made sure that our decisions were that we wouldn’t get involved in the action without a lawful basis, without a viable, thought-through plan. That was the right position for the United Kingdom, and of course, that has included us taking action, collective self-defence …I act in the British national interest, but nothing, but nothing, is going to deflect me from that.”
Keir Starmer
Starmer spent the early months of his premiership cultivating a good, personal relationship with Trump and in 2025 he was able to claim this paid off when the UK was exempt from some of the US tariffs applied to other countries.
However, the relationship started to sour when Starmer sided with other European leaders in firmly opposing Trump’s ambitions to annex Greenland and, over the past few weeks, Trump has frequently ridiculed and insulted Starmer in relation to the UK’s failure to fully support the US war effort in Iran.
Iran Closes Strait Of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Iran closed the strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon today despite the ceasefire.
Iranian media reported that oil tankers have stopped passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as Israel hits Lebanon with the “biggest strike” since its ground operation began. Allowing tankers through the strait is a key to the ceasefire between Iran and the US.
However, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated news agency Fars reported that while two oil tankers were able to pass through the strait with permission from Iran this morning, the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been stopped.
“Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. This is the IRGC Navy Station. 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 news report
The Islamic Republic News Agency also reported that ships have been halted, with both outlets referencing Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon.
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