ASEAN urges more peace negotiations, open Strait of Hormuz
Jakarta | Southeast Asian countries urged the United States and Iran on Monday to keep going with peace negotiations, enforce a ceasefire and restore the safe passage of ships, seafarers and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.
The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the urgent plea as they held an emergency video conference, the second in recent weeks, to assess the impact of the war in the Middle East, including soaring fuel prices, and how they could cooperate in the face of global crises.
The 11-nation bloc reminded "the obligations of all states to resolve their differences through peaceful means, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in armed conflicts".
It called "for the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire, aimed at preventing further suffering and loss of lives, ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation and overflight".
Australia calls for Strait of Hormuz to be open to all
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday called for the Strait of Hormuz to be open and said the United States had not requested Australian help to blockade it.
President Donald Trump said the US Navy would swiftly begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after US-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement.
Albanese told Nine Network television on Monday: "We've received no requests, and they've made this announcement overnight and they've done that in a unilateral way. And we haven't been asked to participate." "What we want to see is negotiations continue and resume. We want to see an end to this conflict. We want to see the Strait of Hormuz opened for all. We want to see freedom of navigation as required by international law as well," Albanese added.
France, UK to convene talks on Hormuz navigation mission
Paris | France and the UK will organise a conference with partners ready to contribute to a peaceful multinational mission to help restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said.
In a post on X, Macron stressed "the need to restore free and unimpeded navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as quickly as possible".
He called for a "peaceful multinational mission," adding: "This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit." France and the UK have in recent years been working to set up an operation that would allow ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting ends.
Starmer says UK doesn't support Trump's Iran blockade
London | Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday said Britain will not be part of a US blockade of Iranian ports in response to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
Starmer told BBC radio that "we're not supporting the blockade" and "we're not getting dragged into the war".
He said UK efforts remain focused on reopening the key shipping route, whose closure has sent prices for oil and other commodities soaring.
Starmer spoke after US President Donald Trump said Britain would send minesweepers to the strait.
Britain said it might help with mine-clearing in the waterway, but only after the fighting stops.
Starmer said all Britain's military capability is focused on getting the strait "fully open".
The UK is working with dozens of other countries on plans to restore security to shipping through the key oil route after the conflict.
Pak merchant ships allowed to cross Strait of Hormuz after initially being denied permission
Karachi | Two merchant ships from Pakistan were allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz and sail to Kuwait and the UAE on Monday after initially being denied permission to pass.
Two merchant ships, Shalimar and Khairpur, of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) are the first Pakistani ships to go into the Persian Gulf since the war broke out between Iran, the US and Israel.
Initially, the two ships were stopped by Iranian authorities and told to go back from the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, a PNSC official said. "But shortly afterwards they were allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf," he added.
The ship captains, Asif and Shaheen, are now on their way to Kuwait and Das Island, from where they will bring back vessels loaded with millions of litres of diesel and crude oil.
On Friday, MV Selen, became the first Pakistani vessel to reach the Karachi Port since the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the ceasefire between Iran and the US.