Trump threat to Iranian civilians ‘wrong’, Starmer says. 10 hours ago. Becky MortonPolitical reporter. House of Commons. Donald Trump’s threat that a “whole civilisation” would die unless Iran agreed to end the war was “wrong”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.. The prime minister told MPs he would not have used the same words as the US president did last week before a two-week ceasefire was agreed.. It comes after Sir Keir confirmed the UK would not be involved in enforcing the US military blockade of Iranian ports, which was due to take effect at 15:00 BST.. In a Commons statement, he said the UK would “continue to stay out of the war” and was focused on reopening the vital shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz.. Hours after Trump made the threat, on Tuesday, 7 April, the US and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire.. However, Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon, while Iran is still restricting access to the Strait of Hormuz.. After weekend peace talks between the US and Iran ended without a deal, Trump said the US would start blockading all ships trying to enter or leave the strait.. In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier on Monday, the president warned Iranian naval ships approaching the US blockade would be “immediately eliminated”.. President Trump has been persistently critical in public of the prime minister, including saying he is “not Winston Churchill” following the PM’s decision not to join his attack on Iran.. As the relationship between the two leaders appeared to sour over the war, the relationship between their deputies is seen as particularly vital in the UK government.. The unlikely friendship began when Lammy was an opposition MP and Vance had just been elected to the US Senate, and last summer the Vice President and his family stayed with Lammy during a summer holiday visit to the UK.. Despite Sir Keir and Trump’s difference of opinion, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy spent Monday in the White House, in separate meetings with America’s Vice President JD Vance and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.. Posting on X afterwards, Lammy wrote it was “great to catch up with my friend JD Vance today in DC following his talks in Pakistan.”. Above a picture of the two men shaking hands, he added: “It is vital that the ceasefire continues and we get shipping flowing freely again through the Straits of Hormuz.. “We continue to work together towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”. Follow live updates. What is a naval blockade and how would it work in Strait of Hormuz?. The US blockade of Iran is a gamble. Will it work?. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said that while Trump did not follow through on his threat against Iran, “these words are a stark reminder of how reckless, immoral, and completely outside the bounds of international law this president is”.. He added that Trump’s plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz “will only escalate this crisis and jeopardise the precarious ceasefire”.. In response, Sir Keir
