UK Convenes Meeting on Reopening Strait of Hormuz as Trump Reiterates Warning to Iran in National Address

Latest Developments

• UK Hosts Meeting of 41 Countries on Hormuz: The United Kingdom  convened a virtual meeting of 41 countries on April 2 on proposed coalition efforts to manage the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that plans to secure the strait would be implemented only after a ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran. “We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said. 
• Trump Addresses Nation on Iran Operations: President Donald Trump addressed American achievements against Iran on April 1. “Iran’s navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them … are now dead,” Trump said. He added that the U.S. is “going to hit [Iran] extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” threatening that if no deal is reached to end the war, the United States would “hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously.”
• Iranian Officials React to Speech: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded that “when the time comes to defend our homeland, every last one of us becomes a soldier.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei separately declared that Iran “will not tolerate this vicious cycle of war, negotiations, and ceasefire, and then repeating the same pattern.” 

FDD Expert Response

“This is a shrewd political move by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to show leadership among countries that are generally reluctant to deploy military force to oppose Iran’s illegal violation of the freedom of navigation along the Strait of Hormuz. The purpose of the meeting is to examine ‘all viable’ options to reopen the strait ‘after the fighting has stopped.’ But American skeptics will note that we may not be looking at a return to the status quo anytime soon; even if the U.S. unilaterally halts military operations, Iran could still wreak havoc in the Strait.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow

“As President Trump has argued, countries most directly affected by the disruption should play a greater role in responding to the closure. The Gulf states must be involved as they are increasingly feeling the economic fallout of the closure as well as Iran’s relentless targeting of their oil and energy infrastructure.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Senior Research Analyst

FDD Background and Analysis

“The War in Iran Is Painful for Poland. It May Also Be in Poland’s Interest.” by Mark Dubowitz and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen  

“Trump Excoriates European Countries for Imposing Restrictions on U.S. Action Against Iran,” FDD Flash Brief

“US-Israeli strikes continue as talks over Strait of Hormuz stall and Iran intensifies internal crackdown,” by Janatan Sayeh

“Glimpsing Victory in Iran,” by Mark Dubowitz and Richard Goldberg