SIR Keir Starmer is refusing to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz risking Trump’s fury after the president called for ships to keep the key route “safe”.
The Prime Minister discussed the matter with Donald Trump, as the US president warned the war in Iran could end “in a few weeks”.
The pair spoke by phone on Sunday evening to discuss the “ongoing situation in the Middle East” as the closure of the key shipping lane continues to drive up costs worldwide.
It comes as oil prices have risen once more as the war in Iran continues to disrupt global markets.
Brent crude price jumped $2.76 to $105.90 a barrel – a rise of 2.68 per cent.
But Starmer is refusing Trump’s calls for a “team effort” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by The Telegraph.
Ministers, along with France, Germany and South Korea, are considering sending mine-hunting drones but will not send any warships.
In a post on social media, the French President called on Iran to put an end to the “unacceptable” attacks against countries in the region.
Meanwhile Iran’s deputy foreign minister warned Starmer and said: “We are not at war with the UK… but any participation in this war would be regarded as participating in the US-Israel war of aggression against Iran.”
Sir Keir is set to give a speech on Monday to announce £50m of emergency support shielding the worst-hit families as the conflict continues to impact the economy in Britain.
In a speech from Downing Street, the Prime Minister will say: “It’s moments like this that tell you what a government is about.
“My answer is clear. Whatever challenges lie ahead, this Government will always support working people. That is my first instinct – my first priority – to help you with the cost of living through this crisis.”
The package is aimed particularly at people who rely on heating oil rather than mains gas to warm their homes.
Around 1.7 million households in England and Wales depend on kerosene for heating and hot water.
Unlike gas and electricity, heating oil prices are not capped and can spike when global markets surge.
This emerges after the US said it expects the war in Iran to end “within the next few weeks” or even sooner.
The US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC: “I think that this conflict will certainly come to an end in the next few weeks – could be sooner than that.
“But the conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks, and we’ll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down in prices after that.”
Meanwhile Iran has insisted its new supreme tyrant – Mojtaba Khamenei – is alive and well, despite the fact that he’s not been seen for days.
Some reports even claim that Iran’s new leader had been transferred to Putin’s private palace for surgery after falling into a coma.
The rogue nation’s foreign minister claimed Mojtaba Khamenei is “in good health” and “fully controlling the situation”.
Trump did little to play down rumours that Khamenei has been killed in an airstrike, claiming “Iran wants to make a deal”.
He said: “I don’t know if he’s even alive.
“So far, nobody’s been able to show him.”
Trump declared the US has “beaten and completely decimated Iran”, both militarily and economically.
The president also issued a chilling warning that the US would keep “bombing the hell out of the shoreline”, blowing any Iranian vessels out of the water.
