UK cannot respond to Iran's demand of safety: Ex Diplomat Fabian

Fabian, in a conversation with ANI, said that there can hardly be any meeting that can be done at the military level.

"The chair has stated that they will work through diplomacy. But later, there was a statement that there would be a meeting at the military level. Hardly anything can be done at the military level... If the 40 countries, the UK is the chair, tell Iran that they should keep the Strait of Hormuz open, Iran will say, yes, it can be done. But please understand why it is not open. Israel and America committed aggression. You ask them to give us a guarantee that it won't be repeated, and we will open it. I don't think there is any credible response which the UK plus can give to that," he said.

The United Kingdom has convened foreign ministers from 40 nations to deliberate on strategies for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime artery currently obstructed by the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. According to Al Jazeera, the high-level meeting addressed the "vital shipping route" that has been severely impacted by the regional war.

During the virtual summit on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper criticised what she termed as Iran's "recklessness" in blockading the passage, asserting that the disruption was "hitting our global economic security."

Cooper's opening remarks, which were broadcast to the media before the session transitioned to a closed-door format, accused Tehran of using the waterway as leverage. "We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage," she stated.

The impact of the blockade has been profound, as retaliatory strikes on merchant vessels and the ongoing "threat of more" have effectively "halted nearly all traffic" through the strait.

Al Jazeera noted that this closure of the path connecting the Gulf to the world's oceans has triggered a sharp rise in "petroleum prices" and interrupted the global "flow of oil". (ANI)