British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to remain committed to NATO, warning that continued American support for the alliance aligns with U.S. strategic interests following renewed withdrawal threats.
Starmer's remarks came as he concluded a three-day visit to the Middle East, where discussions with Gulf leaders were dominated by the fragility of a ceasefire in the region and the future of key strategic routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.
In a recorded pooled TV interview in Qatar, Starmer confirmed he had a call with Trump Thursday evening, but suggested he had avoided directly repeating his recent criticism that he was "fed up” with the president’s role in driving up U.K. energy costs.
Instead, he said their conversation focused on what he described as the need for a "practical plan” to open the strait.
Pressed on whether he had raised his frustrations during the call, Starmer did not directly answer, saying only that they had spent "most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan.”
Starmer indicated that Gulf leaders had emphasized the importance of their involvement in shaping any long-term regional settlement.
He said he had relayed to Trump that there was a "very strong sense there can’t be tolling or restrictions” on the Strait of Hormuz.
Starmer said his meetings with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar had quickly turned to concerns about the ceasefire.
"Discussion moved very quickly to the ceasefire, a sense that it's fragile, that more work is needed, that the Strait of Hormuz has to be part of the solution, a very strong sense that there can't be tolling or restrictions on that navigation,” he said.
Describing the visit as strategically significant, Starmer said: "So it's very important we do that together. It's a big opportunity as well for the United Kingdom. So it has been important that we've been here.”
"The overarching impression here is the importance, as they see it, of us standing with them as an ally, as a friend of theirs at a point of need,” he said.
"And there’s been reflection on the work that we’ve done with them over the last six to seven weeks, on collective self-defence. Here in Qatar, we’ve got a joint squadron, so a real sense of ‘here we are as an ally, standing with our allies when it matters most to them’.”
Starmer warned that the implications of the conflict would be long-lasting.
"There's a sense here, as there is of the U.K., that this conflict is going to define us for a generation, and we must respond and we will respond with strength,” he said.
Regional tensions have escalated since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 3,000 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets. Iran has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, saying Iran presented a "workable” 10-point proposal, while negotiations are expected to determine whether a longer-term agreement can be reached.
