Trump on Truth Social:
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The IRGC has claimed it would be possible to allow vessels through the Strit after the end of “threats from aggressors” and the implementation of “new procedures”. A one-page memorandum would require Iran to pause any nuclear enrichment provided the US agrees to release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. Negotiations ongoing…
Starmer in Downing Street this morning:
“Security is essential, but that is not enough. We must also deal with the forces that drive this hatred in the first place, so we’re confronting them directly. One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents. We’re investigating, of course, all the possibilities and we’re clear that these actions will have consequences if that proves to be the case.
“Our message to Iran, or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated. That is why we passed legislation to tackle these malign threats. We’re clear-eyed about the fact that antisemitism does not have one source alone: Islamists, far left, far right extremism, all target Jewish communities.
“That is why this Government has put in place the first co-ordinated national plan to strengthen cohesion and confront extremism in all of its forms.”
News of yet another suspected arson attack on a synagogue broke as Starmer was speaking…
A defiant Starmbot has regurgitated the government’s talking points on Iran, warning at the Usdaw union’s conference that the “economic consequences could be with us for some time“.
Luckily he will chair an ’emergency’ Cobra meeting tomorrow (so urgent it can wait at least a day) in which he will be “bringing in people from the Bank of England“. The last time he ‘brought in’ someone from the Bank of England, she held two disastrous Budgets and cried on the front bench…
Darren Jones on potential food and fuel shortages resulting from the Iran war:
“Our best guess is eight plus months from the point of resolution that you’ll see economic impacts coming through the system… So people will see higher energy prices, food prices […] flight ticket prices as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.”
He added “we are doing everything we can” to prevent draught beer shortages during the World Cup…
HMS Dragon – Britain’s only high-end destroyer in the Middle East region – has now spent two weeks at Souda Bay in Crete, 920 kilometres away. It arrived there after a short patrol of Cyprus…
Dragon’s operation has been marred by what the MoD said was a “minor technical issue” which led to its routing to port for a “routine logistics stop and a short maintenance period.” Experts say the freshwater system was likely not functioning properly. The MoD insists “the destroyer will remain at high readiness”…
Navy Lookout says crewmen are undergoing a “mix of defect repair, systems calibration and force preparation.“
Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi on X:
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”
Trump’s reaction:
“IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!”
It would be the perfect embodiment of Starmerism for the PM to fly to Paris for a few pointless Zoom calls on the day the Strait is re-opened anyway. Let’s see…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”