LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Britain is working with allies on a collective plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation in the Middle East but it will not be easy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday.
"Ultimately, we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the (oil) market. That is not a simple task," Starmer told reporters.
NATO allies and other Western nations pushed back Monday on US President Donald Trump's demand that military alliance members help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical conduit for crude oil Iran has effectively closed.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working with allies to craft a "viable" plan to reopen the strategic waterway but ruled out a NATO mission, while Berlin insisted it "has been clear at all times that this war is not a matter for NATO".
By Jarrett Renshaw and Steve Holland
PALM BEACH, Florida, March 16 (Reuters) - Neutralizing Iran could make crude oil much cheaper because the threat posed by Tehran imposed a "terror premium" that inflated global oil prices for decades, a top White House adviser said in a report to be released on Monday.
BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that the European Union would impose sanctions on nine people accused of war crimes related to the Bucha massacre in Ukraine.
Barrot made the comments as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
China and the US held what both sides described Monday as constructive talks aimed at addressing volatile trade ties that have been upended by President Donald Trump's tariffs and the Middle East war.
The talks in the French capital "were constructive and they show the stability of the relationship", US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told journalists.
Chinese state media described the Sunday talks between Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng as "candid, in-depth and constructive".
By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI, March 16 (Reuters) - Vietnamese authorities have warned the country's aviation industry to prepare for potential flight reductions from April after China and Thailand halted exports of jet fuel due to the Iran war, increasing the likelihood of shortages.
Vietnam imports more than two-thirds of its jet fuel needs, with 60% coming from China and Thailand, according to documents from the aviation regulator and importers seen by Reuters.
BEIJING, March 16 (Reuters) - China said on Monday it is in communication with the U.S. about President Donald Trump's visit, after Trump threatened to delay the trip over the Strait of Hormuz, and suggested sanctions previously imposed on Marco Rubio are no longer in effect.
Trump said countries that benefit from shipping through the Strait of Hormuz should help secure it, in comments published by the Financial Times on Sunday.
Here are the latest events in the Middle East war:
- Blasts in Tehran -
Explosions hit the Iranian capital on Monday, an AFP journalist reported, hours after Israel said it conducted large-scale overnight strikes.
The blasts were heard in central Tehran as air defence systems were activated, the journalist said. It was not immediately clear what was targeted.
- 'Limited' operations -
The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun what it described as "limited ground operations" against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday she had discussed with the United Nations the idea of freeing up transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz by replicating a deal that gets grain out of Ukraine during wartime.
Arriving at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said she had spoken to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the idea to unblock the strait, currently choked off due to the Iran war.
BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - All EU informal councils will be held as planned in Cyprus between April and June, Cyprus Energy Minister Michael Damianos said on Monday.
Cyprus, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, moved all March meetings online or postponed them after a drone strike on a British air base amid the Iran crisis earlier this month. Cypriot officials said the attack was carried out by an Iranian‑made Shahed drone, likely launched by Iran‑backed Hezbollah from Lebanon.
