Starmer's Gulf Tour: Pushing for Ceasefire & Open Strait

0:00It's April 9th. Welcome to Europe News Today, powered by AI and covering Europe in real time. UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer landed in the United Arab Emirates today, hitting the second stop on his Gulf tour as the U.S. Iran ceasefire shows real. Cracks. He's pushing allies to lock in the paws on fighting and fire of shipping through the strait of Hormuz again, that vital choke point for global oil. Earlier this week, he linked up with Saudi crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, and he set to huddle with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahin. Starmer digs the two-week break from President Trump's bombing runs, but he's keeping it real. It's early days and way more grime needed to get. Tankers flowing? Meanwhile, Iran slammed the strait shut Wednesday night, firing back at Israeli hits on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump posted that U.S. troops stick around Iran to the full deals locked in, while VPJD Vance cleared up the mess, saying the pack skips Lebanon, but Iran got the wrong idea.

1:03Starmer teamed with European allies in Canada for a joint call to roll out the ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper drops that line again in her Thursday night speech. As U.S. Iran talks kickoff in Pakistan this weekend with Vance and Envoy Steve Wyckoff. All this chaos spiked oil prices worldwide from the strikes and strait drama. The ceasefire news tanked them back down. Starmer's play is straight economic defense for the UK. Keep that straight open, steady the fuel flow, and dodge the fallout.