Starmer says UK wants to help with opening of Hormuz strait on Gulf visit

<p>PM meets Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia before further visits to regional allies, who may see him as more reliable than Trump</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/08/iran-war-ceasefire-live-updates-trump-deadline-middle-east-crisis-latest-news">Middle East crisis – live updates</a></p></li></ul><p>The UK has a “job” to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, Keir Starmer has said, as Iranian reports said the key shipping route <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/08/middle-east-ceasefire-doubt-israel-lebanon-iran-oil-tankers">was closed</a> again just hours after a supposed ceasefire.</p><p>The prime minister met British and local military personnel at an airbase in Taif, Saudi Arabia, at the start of what is expected to be a wider trip to Gulf allies, one billed as a mirror to his efforts to pull together a plan for how a ceasefire might operate in Ukraine.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/08/keir-starmer-says-it-is-uks-job-to-help-reopen-strait-of-hormuz">Continue reading...</a>