Iran has been able to "hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage", UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told a summit convened to address attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.Representatives from more than 40 countries attended the virtual talks on Thursday, which were billed as the beginning of efforts to assemble a coalition capable of ensuring security in the Gulf shipping channel.Iran has attacked several vessels in the Strait in response to the war waged against it by the US and Israel, disrupting energy exports and sending global fuel prices soaring.The summit would focus on diplomatic measures as opposed to military options, Cooper said at the beginning of the talks.The foreign secretary said: "We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage."This is hitting the trading routes for Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi, Oman, Iraq, but that means liquid natural gas for Asia, fertiliser for Africa, and jet fuel for the world."That Iranian recklessness towards countries who were never involved in this conflict, which we and 130 countries across the world have strongly condemned at the United Nations, is not just hitting mortgage rates and petrol prices and the cost of living here in the UK and in many different countries across the world, it is hitting our global economic security."On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said it was for other nations to "build up some delayed courage" and reopen the route.Trump said allies "should have done it" earlier, adding: "Go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves."Washington has repeatedly accused allies of not doing enough to secure the shipping route or to support its war effort, leaving the UK and other nations weighing how to contribute to securing the strait without becoming involved in the wider war.French President Emmanuel Macron said it was "unrealistic" to reopen the Strait using military force, saying: "It is never the option we have chosen."Speaking during a visit to South Korea, he said: "This can only be done in concert with Iran. So, first and foremost, there must be a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations."
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