BRITISH military experts are working on a plan to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz after days of Iranian aggression towards oil ships.
A top team of officers have been dispatched to US Central Command in Florida where allied forces hope to navigate the dangerous trading route and fend off Tehran’s bloodthirsty regime.
The Strait of Hormuz – a narrow artery carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil – has been effectively shut down by Iran using mines, drones and naval forces to attack enemy vessels.
Its closure has had a major impact on global oil prices which have surged past $100 a barrel as nearly 27 per cent of global maritime energy flows have been choked off.
Donald Trump has warned the regime the strait will be reopened by force if they refuse to cooperate as he vowed to break the blockade – with or without the allies help.
The US president erupted at Nato partners and European leaders who have been reluctant to join the fight, declaring: “We do not need the help of anyone.”
But just 24 hours later, it has emerged that the British military is helping out the US over the all-important waterway.
Defence sources have stressed the situation remains incredibly dangerous that many nations are still not willing to put warships “in the middle of that threat right now”.
Armed forces minister Al Carns warned of the firepower and support needed in order to wrestle control of the strait away from the Iranians.
He said: “In 1987 when this last happened, it took 30 warships to escort in the Strait of Hormuz. That gives you just an example of the resources required.”
Carns added that today the threat is far greater due to Tehran’s attack boats, row of deadly mines and relentless drones.
He continued: “I would say this must be a multinational solution.
“We’re not anywhere near that at the moment, but I would say one thing: that there’s one thing worse than working with allies, and that’s working without them.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has already committed to helping with plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
He announced on Monday: “Ultimately, we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the market – that is not a
simple task.
“So we’re working with all of our allies to bring together a viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impact.”
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the UK is in conversation with its allies, including France, Germany, Italy and Poland, about the conflict.
Despite the work the UK says they are doing, Washington remains unimpressed.
Trump again ripped into America’s “non-responsive allies” saying: “I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State.
“[Then] let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’
“That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”
The US president said a number of countries would be sending warships to protect oil tankers – which he hopes will include the UK.
So far, the UK has only sent out the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon to RAF Akrotiri, a British base on Cyprus, after it was hit by a drone on March 1.
The high-stakes battle for the Strait of Hormuz is now the central front of the war, with Washington determined to reopen the waterway and restore the flow of global oil.
If Iran maintains its stranglehold here, Britain faces a “significant shortfall of supply” in oil and gas within the next two months, industry experts say.
It would force ministers to “ration” supplies as long as the war in the Middle East rages.
Nick Butler, a former head of strategy at oil firm BP, told The Sun: “The government will have to protect food supply, hospitals, schools, transport systems and what that means, that is effectively rationing.
“And then they will have to decide what to do with the rest of us who use oil every day, at home, in the car, and rationing will be necessary in some form and it’s not easy.”
It comes as Al Carns announced that British pilots and gunners have destroyed more than 40 Iranian drones since the conflict in Iran began.
