Starmer to Chair Crisis Meeting as Trump’s Iran Deadline Looms

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold an emergency meeting with his top ministers and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on the Iran crisis on Monday, as the clock ticks on President Donald Trump’s two-day deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.Author of the article:You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.(Bloomberg) — UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold an emergency meeting with his top ministers and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on the Iran crisis on Monday, as the clock ticks on President Donald Trump’s two-day deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Starmer will discuss the economic impact of the crisis with cabinet ministers including Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, alongside the BOE’s Bailey, the Treasury said in an e-mailed statement late Sunday. They will also discuss energy security, supply chain resilience and the international response to the war, according to the statement.Trump on Saturday gave Iran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or have its power plants bombed, threatening to escalate a conflict that has already caused energy prices to soar. Iran responded that, if its facilities came under attack, it would close the shipping channel “completely.”Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Trump and Starmer spoke on Sunday and discussed “the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping,” Starmer’s office said in a statement. They agreed that reopening the Hormuz strait is “essential to ensure stability in the global energy market” and agreed to speak again “soon.”The Iran conflict is putting increasing pressure on Starmer to announce a support package to help people with their energy bills, which are expected to increase by 20% when an existing price cap covering gas and electricity expires at the end of June. Starmer’s government has announced £53 million ($70 million) of help for people who use heating oil, which isn’t protected by the price cap. Britain’s premier is due to take questions from Parliament’s Liaison Committee on Monday afternoon, where he’s likely to be grilled on what support the government may provide.Starmer’s focus on the economic impact of the war comes after the 10-year-yield, a benchmark for Britain’s borrowing costs, hit 5% for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis and after the BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee led by Bailey unanimously voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday. The BOE said it “stands ready to act” against an inflation surge, prompting traders to ramp up bets on an interest-rate hike as soon as April. The BOE’s policy stance must “respond to the risk of a more persistent effect on UK CPI inflation,” Bailey said last week.On Sunday, Starmer’s cost of living czar Richard Walker, who is also the chairman of supermarket chain Iceland Foods Ltd, said the UK should consider temporarily capping the profits of energy companies. The suggestion comes as gas prices at UK pumps reached their highest since August 2024 last week. Brent crude topped $112 per barrel last week, the highest price in almost four years.“There’s no need to ration fuel,” UK Housing Secretary Steve Reed said on Sky News on Sunday. “People should go around and buy their fuel just like they always would. If the situation were to change, then the government would look at what was required in that circumstance.”Starmer’s meeting also comes after the UK became more embroiled in the Iran conflict, with Iran launching ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia on Friday and Britain giving the US permission to use its bases including Diego Garcia for “defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit out at the move, warning that Tehran “will exercise its right to self-defense.” The Diego Garcia attack demonstrated a weapons capability beyond what Tehran was known to have possessed. Weapons with a range of almost 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) would put European cities including London and Paris at risk of an attack from Iran.Reed downplayed that prospect.There is “no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK or even could, if they wanted to,” Reed said on BBC TV on Sunday. “We are perfectly capable of protecting this country and keeping this country safe, whether it’s here at home, or whether it’s our assets and nationals across the region.”Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.