The UK has approved the use of British bases for the US to carry out "defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities" being used by Iran to attack ships in the strait of Hormuz, the government said today following a meeting of cabinet ministers.
The UK had previously limited US use of its bases to counter threats directly risking UK lives or interests.
Downing Street condemned Iran's widening of targets to international vessels and said the UK is co-ordinating a viable plan with partners to safeguard navigation through the strait. But it reiterated that the UK will not be drawn into the wider conflict.
Around 20mn b/d of Middle East crude and refined products — roughly 25pc of global seaborne oil trade — was transported through the Hormuz strait last year. But since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February, tanker traffic has slumped in the wake of repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks on ships and energy sites in the region.
Options to bypass the strait are limited, leading to a sharp spike in oil and gas prices. US president Donald Trump has castigated the UK and other Nato allies for not helping the US to reopen the waterway.
