Joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on the Strait of Hormuz: 19 March 2026

They should be telling the US and Israel to back off because that’s the only way this ends. I hope they are saying that in private at least.

Today we had the spectacle of Hegseth telling Europe we are ungrateful and should be saying ‘thank you’ to Trump. For taking the world to the edge of the abyss.

If the states were doing this for conflict we started they’d be demanding compensation for their efforts. Why aren’t we getting paid for coming to the US rescue yet again?

Well that as a bit lacking. You’d have thought this was all on Iran, that they;d woken up one morning and decided that the world needed to burn. Zero mention of Trumps reckless and dangerous handling of the entire affair.

I agree that Iran should not be able to attain nuclear weapons, I believe we should strive to stop nuclear proliferation, I believe we should strive to build a world in which we can one day maybe dis arm our own nuclear weapons…

But this… this is a Putin-esque shambles! How Trumps political career survives this is beyond belief. Our own leaders have been laughed out of office for far far less…

The Neoliberals starting to bend the knee to the fascist imperialist again. They should be telling the US to bugger off from the ME. Hegseth should get a special section calling him an imbecile drunk.

Almost as if Iran’s to blame for the war of aggression leveled against them. They aren’t fooling anyone.

Oh look, international coordination of the matter. How quaint of them… Time to run my mouth off at 0200hrs and threaten to blow up a Gas Field because higher Prices are bad for me but also good as I make a lot of money during these energy crisis.

This is like ‘Advanced World War One tactics’ with General Melchett from Blackadder.

If all these nations promise two to three ships each, they may be able to ensure somewhat safe passage. But who wants to be seen helping Trump in this?

They should consider imposing a deadline on both sides to stop operating in the straits and require them to move their ships, while promising the security of shipping.

Realistically, that deadline may need to be June 1st, as it takes time to implement a large multinational operation and allows time for continued degradation of Iran’s military capabilities.

I think there’s a chance it wouldn’t be needed, but it’s a good idea to reassure the market and Gulf allies that there’s an end in sight.

America is the enemy.

They bomb civilians, destabilise regions, starve their neighbours, abscond with and murder foreign leaders, brutalise their own citizens, support genocide, and so, so much more. Think of all those Iranian schoolgirls who could’ve been in class this morning for another day of learning, all those Cuban babies on incubators who’ve now passed since their grid collapsed, all those children in Gaza who’ve watched their family members and friends die in front of them, or the American citizens who’ve tried to protect their neighbours from being disappeared and have seen their fellow heroes murdered with no chance of justice.

The sooner this barbaric regime ends the better the world will be. These European governments are a gaggle of cowards. Stop pretending Iran’s actions are in a vacuum and start demanding US and Israeli withdrawal before it’s too late

Wasnt gas infrastructure attacled by Israel first? Where is thar condemnation.

This feels incredibly performative.

Hmmmmm no mention at all of the people bombing Iran. Pathetic and absolutely pointless statement.

Rules based-order is gone. Russia, Israel, and now the US have killed it in just 4 years. It ain’t coming back. We need to realise that Europe is going to end up between two imperialist states and prepare ourselves accordingly, if we aren’t there already.

If anyone was quoting international law at me while I’m being attacked unprovoked, they would get told in no uncertain terms to get bent.

Bout time. International leaders have been awful at dealing with maga fascists

IMO when these six leaders say “Iran must stop blocking the Strait,” what they’re really saying is “please stop using your only leverage so we can get back to cheap oil while the bombing continues.” Which, from Tehran’s perspective, is an absurd ask. It’s like telling someone in a fight to put down their only weapon while the other guy keeps swinging.

The statement reads like it was written by people who know this but can’t say it. Notice there’s no “and in return, here’s what we’ll push for”…no call for a ceasefire, no demand that strikes on Iran stop, no proposed off ramp. Just “Iran must comply” with nothing offered in exchange.

That’s why it’ll achieve precisely nothing diplomatically. Iran has no incentive to reopen the Strait while it’s still being bombed. The Strait closure is the only reason anyone’s even talking about this conflict’s impact beyond the Middle East. Without it, these six nations would probably have issued a much softer “concern about the situation” statement and carried on.

The real audience for this statement isn’t Tehran. It’s domestic: preparing their own populations for higher energy prices and possibly naval involvement in keeping the Strait open.

Why condemn Iran instead of the fat rat who started this shit in the first place

Good.

If they don’t comply now, it will take a UNSC resolution to go after them militarily or provide escorts to keep the area traversable, and with a UN backing then they’ll be truly buggered so may just back down before it happens.