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Kiran Stacey
British ministers are drawing up plans to send minesweeping drones to the strait of Hormuz amid concerns in Whitehall that complying with Donald Trump’s demand to send ships could escalate the crisis.
The government is considering dispatching aerial minesweepers to help clear the vital waterway of mines in an attempt to allow the flow of oil exports to resume. However, officials said that sending ships, as requested over the weekend by the US president, could worsen the situation given the volatile nature of the war.
Keir Starmer will announce tens of millions of pounds to support Britons feeling the impact of higher energy prices at a Downing Street press conference on Monday, where he will also emphasise the importance of de-escalating the crisis.
The prime minister is to say:
double quotation markWe will continue to work towards a swift resolution of the situation in the Middle East. Because there is no question that ending the war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said:
double quotation markIt is very important that we get the strait of Hormuz reopened … There are different ways that we could contribute, including with mine-hunting drones.
He added:
double quotation markAll of these things are being looked at in concert with our allies … Any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at.
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Japan starts release of strategic oil reserves
Japan said on Monday it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.
Japan, which depends on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports, said on Monday in a notice in its official government gazette – cited by the AFP news agency – that the level of oil reserves in the country “is being lowered”.
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Updated at 00.49 EDT
Israel says it still has thousands of targets in Iran
Israel has said its military remains focused on thousands of potential targets in Iran, even as Tehran warned neighbouring nations against further involvement in the expanding regional war.
The stern warning from Iran coincided with reports from Rome that a base in Kuwait, housing both US and Italian personnel, was targeted in a drone strike. Tehran claims it has “ample evidence” that US military installations on neighbouring territory are being used as launch points for the ongoing campaign of airstrikes.
Israeli military spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said on Sunday, as the sustained US-Israeli operations entered their third week:
double quotation markWe still have thousands of targets in Iran, and we are identifying new targets every day.
We are ready, in coordination with our US allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover, about three weeks from now. And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that.
In response to the offensive, Iran has continued to threaten the vital strait of Hormuz. This escalating maritime crisis was a primary focus of a Sunday discussion between Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer.
Trump has called for an international coalition to secure the waterway, while Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi used a call with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to urge other nations to “refrain from any action that could lead to escalation and expansion of the conflict”.
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Nick Visser
The captain of the Iranian women’s football squad has left Australia after withdrawing her claim of asylum.
Zahra Ghanbari became the fifth member of the football cohort to change her mind after initially taking up an offer to stay in the country following the Asian Cup.
The office of home affairs minister Tony Burke confirmed on Monday that another team member had left late on Sunday night.
Ghanbari’s decision to join fellow players in Malaysia was reported by Iranian state news agency Irna, which has seized on the about-face from all but two members of the cohort as a propaganda coup for the nation’s under-siege regime.
Australia initially granted asylum to seven members of the party, including one from the support staff, last week while they were in the country for the Asian Cup.
Burke said on Sunday, after three of the women decided to return to Iran, that the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options after telling Australian officials they had made this decision.
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Iran’s foreign minister has claimed Israeli strikes on fuel depots across Tehran amount to “ecocide”, citing the impact on the health of the Iranian capital’s residents.
“Israel’s bombings of fuel depots in Tehran violate international law and constitute ecocide,” Abbas Araghchi said on X.
double quotation markResidents face long-term damage to their health and well-being. Contamination of soil and groundwater could have generational impacts.
Israel “must be punished for its war crimes”, he added.
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Japan has said it will not send warships “at the moment” to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump urged countries to join a “team effort” to protect vessels from Iranian strikes.
The strait has been all but closed since the start of the war, raising global energy supply fears, and the US president repeatedly pressed countries at the weekend to help secure this weekend.
Trump specifically named China, the UK, Japan, France and South Korea – and earlier warned that Nato faced a “very bad” future if its members failed to step up.
Japan’s defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi told the country’s parliament:
double quotation markIn the current Iran situation, we are not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation.
In the UK, ministers are drawing up plans to send minesweeping drones to the strait, my colleague Kiran Stacey reported earlier, amid concerns in Whitehall that complying with Trump’s demand to send ships could escalate the crisis.
Australia has also confirmed it will not send ships. “We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something we’ve been asked, or we’re contributing to,” transport minister Catherine King told the national broadcaster ABC.
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Updated at 23.39 EDT
Donald Trump is said to be working to build a coalition of countries that will attempt to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
The US president hopes to unveil the list later this week, Axios reported, citing four unnamed sources.
Over the weekend, Trump claimed that “many countries” would send warships to the region – before publicly urging a string of countries to do so. The response has been muted, my colleague Hannah Ellis-Petersen hs reported from Dubai.
A fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes through the strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway on Iran’s southern coast. Iran’s effective closure of it in retaliation for US-Israel attacks has been catastrophic for global energy and trade flows, causing soaring global oil prices amid what’s been called “the largest oil supply disruption in history”.
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Updated at 23.30 EDT
