Sir Keir Starmer has said there is “a lot of work to do” to make the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US hold and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The prime minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as he visits Gulf allies to discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the agreement.
He said fully reopening the vital shipping route to restore oil and gas supplies would help “stabilise” prices in the UK.
The ceasefire comes after US President Donald Trump threatened “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran did not agree to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz – comments that led Downing Street to call again for “de-escalation”.
Sir Keir said there is a sense of “relief” following the ceasefire but he acknowledged it is “early days”.
His remarks came as Iranian media reported that oil tankers have stopped passing through the Strait, as Israel said it had hit Lebanon with the “biggest strikes” since its ground operation began.
Pakistan, which acted as an intermediary in the ceasefire talks, and Iran said the deal covers Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian proxy Hezbollah.
But Israel has said the two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.
Allowing tankers through the strait is a key to the ceasefire between Iran and the US.
Ship-broker SSY confirmed to BBC Verify that vessels in the Gulf have received a message that warns the Strait remains closed and permission is required from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) before sailing.
Sir Keir, addressing UK and Saudi personnel at the King Fahd Air Base in Taif, said: “There’s a lot of work to do, as you will appreciate, a lot of work to make sure that that ceasefire becomes permanent and brings about the peace that we all want to see.
“But also a lot of work to do in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, which has an impact everywhere across the world.”
Sir Keir will return to the UK on Friday, with the trip planned before the ceasefire announcement.
For the Conservatives, shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly told BBC Breakfast the ceasefire is an “opportunity for Iran to make some serious choices” about how it behaves at home and abroad.
Former foreign secretary Sir James said the war was initiated to ensure Iran “never acquires a nuclear weapon” and that remains an “absolute priority”, adding: “So we’ll welcome this two-week ceasefire, but it’s time that mustn’t be wasted.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomed the ceasefire but questioned whether the UK could trust Trump, labelling him a “totally unreliable ally”.
Sir Ed said the Strait of Hormuz needed to be opened otherwise people would “pay a heavy price in inflation and lower growth”, adding: “So whatever it takes, but I do think we’ve got to stand up to America.
“America has caused this problem so we’ve got to work with allies who we can trust.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he did not believe Sir Keir would be treated “with a great degree of respect” during his visit to the Gulf, claiming the prime minister’s decisions regarding the conflict had “upset” allies.
Last week the UK hosted a virtual summit in which representatives from more than 40 countries began work to assemble a coalition capable of ensuring security in the Strait after the fighting has stopped.
This was followed by a military planning conference on Tuesday.
Iran and the US agreed to the conditional ceasefire on Tuesday, just over an hour before the expiry of the deadline Trump had set for Iran to make a deal.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the ceasefire was “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Iran would agree to a ceasefire “if attacks against Iran are halted”.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible,” he added.
The war began in February, when the US and Israel launched co-ordinated attacks on Iran over concerns Tehran was accelerating efforts towards building a nuclear weapon.
In response, Iran has launched strikes on its neighbours across the Gulf and the wider Middle East.
It also placed a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that serves as a critical shipping route through which a fifth of the world’s energy shipments usually transits.
The conflict caused the price of crude oil to spike, with sharp increases in petrol and diesel costs, leading to concerns about the cost of living in countries across the world.
By BBC News
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