The United Kingdom stated that it will not participate in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for a ‘reverse blockade’ of the Strait of Hormuz. Having already declined a request to dispatch forces to the strait, it has also rejected the reverse-blockade plan, making differences between the United Kingdom and the United States increasingly clear in the context of the Iran war.

According to the BBC and others on the 12th (local time), a U.K. government spokesperson said, “We continue to support freedom of navigation and the openness of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed for the global economy and for stabilizing the cost of living at home,” and added, “The Strait of Hormuz must not become subject to tolls.” The spokesperson continued, “We are working closely with France and other partners to build a broad coalition to protect freedom of navigation.”

This position came after the first U.S.-Iran talks to end the war collapsed and President Donald Trump announced that he would initiate procedures to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, and it is interpreted as placing emphasis on securing maritime safety through multilateral cooperation while keeping distance from the military blockade approach pursued by the United States. Other U.K. officials also told Bloomberg that Britain will not participate in the U.S. blockade operation.

In a Fox News interview that day, President Trump said, “The United Kingdom and several countries are sending minesweeping vessels,” but this was reported to be unrelated to the U.S. plan for a reverse blockade of the strait. The United Kingdom has reviewed the possible deployment of autonomous mine-hunting unmanned vehicles (drones), but Bloomberg reported that this is part of a multilateral plan to restore safe navigation in the strait.

The United Kingdom and other major European countries plan to hold additional meetings soon to discuss ways to open the Strait of Hormuz. However, many of the countries taking part in the meetings are reportedly reluctant to deploy military force without a permanent U.S.-Iran peace agreement. Most consider the option of opening the Strait of Hormuz by military means to be unrealistic.

With the United Kingdom drawing a line by saying it will also not join the reverse-blockade plan for the Strait of Hormuz, there are expectations that tensions with the United States will intensify further.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been at odds with President Trump after, in the early phase of the Iran war, declining to allow U.S. forces to use British military bases and responding coolly to Washington’s request to deploy to the Strait of Hormuz. Even after the first U.S.-Iran talks to end the war collapsed, Starmer emphasized the need to avoid escalation, saying, “We must find a solution.” President Trump has continued to criticize Starmer, likening him to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who pursued appeasement by yielding to Adolf Hitler’s demands in an effort to avoid war with Nazi Germany.