LONDON, U.K.: Almost three dozen countries met on April 2 to exert diplomatic and political pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the virtual meeting chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper "will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and to resume the movement of vital commodities." Iran's attacks on commercial ships—and the risk of more—have almost completely stopped traffic in the key waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the world's oceans.
This has cut off a major route for global oil supplies and pushed oil prices sharply higher.
The United States did not attend the April 2 meeting.
Donald Trump said protecting the waterway is not America's responsibility and told U.S.
allies to secure their own oil supplies.
No country seems ready to reopen the strait by force while the conflict continues, especially since Iran can strike ships using missiles, drones, small attack boats, and sea mines.
However, U.K.....
