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(Bloomberg) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed his UK counterpart to host a summit with other nations on protecting maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, as pressure builds on President Donald Trump to reopen a waterway shuttered by the war with Iran.
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Hegseth and Britain’s new defense secretary, Wes Streeting, spoke by phone on Friday about the possibility, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. They said the US wants the UK to host the meeting and Hegseth would attend. No final decision has been made.
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The Pentagon declined to comment. The news of a potential high-level meeting on the strait was earlier reported by Axios.
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Trump administration officials have repeatedly urged other countries — and especially US allies — to help reopen the strait, a vital waterway for global shippers that was shut soon after the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February and has closed again in recent weeks as violence has surged again.
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But many nations have balked about participating, concerned that doing so would deepen their involvement in a conflict they opposed. Tehran effectively shuttered the route with repeated attacks on ships, roiling global energy markets. The UK and other Europeans have long said they would only send naval assets into the strait to begin de-mining efforts once a lasting ceasefire is in place.
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The UK had initially opposed letting the US use its bases for operations linked to the war, though former Prime Minister Keir Starmer later changed his stance and Starmer’s replacement, Andy Burnham, approved the use of his country’s bases for defensive strikes.
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With leaders in Tehran continuing to hold out despite nearly two weeks of sustained strikes, the US is now ramping up pressure again for help reopening the strait and pressing Iran to release its chokehold.
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“I think the world should unite on that point,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the NHK in an interview published on Thursday. “Every country in the world should be calling Iran and saying: you can’t do this or we’re also going to come after you.”
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—With assistance from Fiona MacDonald.
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English (US)