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<\/p>\nYvette Cooper has said that any talks between the US and Iran must result in a toll-free passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
The Foreign Secretary said that proposals have been circulating from Tehran to introduce tolls on the crucial waterway once the conflict concludes.<\/p>\n
Ms Cooper was travelling to Japan on Sunday on the final leg of a diplomatic mission ahead of the US\u2013Iran ceasefire expiring on Tuesday, which she called a \u201ccritical diplomatic moment\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil normally flows, has been closed by Iran as a response to America and Israel\u2019s strikes.<\/p>\n
In retaliation, US President Donald Trump began his own blockade of Iran\u2019s oil ports, aimed at stemming Tehran\u2019s fossil fuel income.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump said that US negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday for talks, lifting hopes of extending the ceasefire.<\/p>\n
But on Sunday, the US said it had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that it claimed was attempting to get around the blockade.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump, in a post on social media, said the ship was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop but it did not.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials had earlier said that they remain open to negotiation but insisted ships will not pass through the Strait of Hormuz while the US blockade remains in place.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(PA Graphics)<\/p>\n
(PA Graphics)<\/p>\n
Mr Trump, announcing Monday\u2019s talks, accused Iran of violating a ceasefire by targeting ships near the strait and threatened to destroy Iranian civilian infrastructure if Tehran rejects a US deal.<\/p>\n
Ms Cooper said: \u201cThis is a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the ceasefire looming. Further talks on a lasting settlement are welcome \u2013 they must lead to a toll-free Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThis argument is not just about the Strait of Hormuz, it is about the precedent this will set for freedom of navigation all over the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the wrong precedent is set, it would be deeply damaging not just for the global economy, but for global security, and that is why it is an argument we must win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early on Monday, Iran\u2019s first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref called for an end to economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports, writing on X: \u201cOne cannot restrict Iran\u2019s oil exports while expecting free security for others. The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Tokyo, Ms Cooper is expected to focus on UK\u2013Japan co-operation amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, including energy security and supply chain resilience.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper held talks in Paris (Tom Nicholson\/PA)<\/p>\n
(Tom Nicholson)<\/p>\n
She is set to meet Japan\u2019s foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi at the 10th UK\u2013Japan Strategic Dialogue.<\/p>\n
Ms Cooper has also met foreign ministers from 11 countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE and Ukraine, as well as speaking to US secretary of state Marco Rubio, during a \u201csix-day diplomatic tour\u201d ahead of the end of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Sir Keir Starmer said that the UK and France will lead a peaceful mission to protect freedom of navigation in the strait.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister said the mission would be put in place as soon as conditions allow, once hostilities in the Iran war are over.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting of world leaders in Paris on efforts to safeguard the flow of shipping.<\/p>\n
But Mr Trump has belittled the efforts of Nato nations, saying the transatlantic allies had been \u201cuseless when needed\u201d and were only getting involved now the situation was over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yvette Cooper has said that any talks between the US and Iran must result in a toll-free passage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[21210,38,19974,34,15401,101,69,2680],"class_list":["post-73864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iran","tag-diplomatic-mission","tag-donald-trump","tag-foreign-secretary","tag-iran","tag-mr-trump","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-tehran","tag-yvette-cooper"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116434969789136415","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}