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UK convenes 30-nation Hormuz summit — Starmer: 'assess all viable diplomatic measures'; US absent

·London (virtual)

Foreign ministers from almost three dozen countries met in a UK-hosted virtual summit on the Strait of Hormuz blockade — chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, with the US absent. PM Keir Starmer said the meeting would 'assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.' The US is not attending after Trump said the waterway is 'not America's job' — a position that has drawn criticism from European and Asian allies absorbing the economic shock of Iran's Hormuz closure.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosted an emergency virtual meeting on Thursday (April 2 = D34) on the Strait of Hormuz blockade with approximately 40 nations — without the United States. Cooper's opening statement: Iran has hijacked 'an international shipping route to hold the world to ransom.' The meeting aimed to assess diplomatic and political measures to restore navigation, ensure safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and resume movement of vital commodities. PM Keir Starmer: The meeting 'will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.' Military planners — next week: Britain's defense ministry announced it will convene a meeting of military planners next week to discuss 'viable options to make the Strait of Hormuz accessible and safe' for international shipping. This represents an escalation from the diplomatic Hormuz summit to active military planning — though Macron has said force is 'unrealistic.' US absent: Trump said the US 'does not need the Strait of Hormuz' and urged other nations to take responsibility. The UK is now leading a coalition of ~40 nations on both diplomatic and military contingency planning for Hormuz — without Washington. Macron dimension: Macron also criticized Trump's 'shifting statements' on the Iran war as 'unserious' and said his 'angry comments on NATO' were unhelpful — deepening the US-Europe rift. Sources: NYT April 2 live blog (Cooper statement, 8:48 a.m. ET / 13:48 UTC); Times of Israel April 2 live blog.
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Actor responses

NATONEUTRALDIPLOMATIC

UK foreign secretary convened emergency Hormuz blockade virtual meeting. Dozens of nations attending. US not participating. Prior joint statement framework by UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Japan.

United StatesNEUTRALDIPLOMATIC

Trump: 'The US does not need the Strait of Hormuz.' Urged other countries to 'take responsibility' for securing it themselves. US declining to join UK-led multilateral Hormuz coordination meeting.

Sources

T1New York Times April 2 live blog — UK Hormuz virtual meeting, US absent9% reliability