Foreign Secretary diplomatic tour - “Further negotiations to reach lasting settlement are welcome - they must lead to a toll-free Strait of Hormuz”

Heading into the final day of a 6-day diplomatic tour spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia, at a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the 2-week ceasefire looming, the Foreign Secretary has welcomed new negotiations in Pakistan - highlighting that any agreement must include full reopening of the Strait, with no place for tolls.

In the run‑up to the expiry of the Iran ceasefire, the Foreign Secretary has intensified shuttle diplomacy across the globe - meeting in person with Foreign Ministers from 11 countries including European nations and the EU, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, and Ukraine, as well as speaking to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That concludes with meeting the Japanese Foreign Minister for their annual Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo today.

She has been working with allies and partners to turn the ceasefire into a lasting settlement and to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz - and she has been determinedly building and strengthening international support for the position that it must not include tolls. 

Proposals had been circulating widely from Iran which would mean new tolls or fees to cover vessels passing through the Strait as part of any conclusion to the conflict. Cooper is calling for the negotiations to reflect the growing international consensus that there can be no tolls on the Strait. She has warned from the start that this would breach the law of the sea, the principles of free navigation and would not only increase costs at home but would set precedents that undermine international shipping routes worldwide.

She has been engaging with partners across the globe to build a broad coalition of opposition and resistance to tolls - including through convening 40 countries before Easter and supporting the Prime Minister and President Macron to convene 50 countries on Friday. The Foreign Secretary has been clear that preventing individual states from holding the global economy hostage requires coordinated international action to protect supply chains, uphold international law and defend the rules‑based order.

Earlier in the week, the Foreign Secretary met her E3 counterparts and EU partners in Berlin to align next steps on the ceasefire and regional stability, helping to shape the coordinated international approach taken forward in Paris, where she supported the Prime Minister at the UK‑France‑hosted meeting on the Strait of Hormuz - meeting.

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister set out agreement among partners to establish an international maritime mission to protect commercial shipping and uphold freedom of navigation, alongside clear expectations that all states respect the law of the sea. The Prime Minister underlined that the UK will play a central role, making a significant contribution to the mission and working with allies to deter further disruption and restore confidence in global maritime trade.

From Paris, the Foreign Secretary travelled to Antalya, attending the international foreign policy forum in Türkiye. On the margins of the forum she met with Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye; Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan who has been engaged in the mediation; and Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Speaking to the press, the Foreign Secretary underlined that, while a ceasefire was now in place, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had not yet returned to normal, describing the situation as a critical diplomatic moment. She stressed the importance of turning the ceasefire into a durable peace, warning that continued disruption to maritime traffic risked holding the global economy hostage. She called for the full restoration of freedom of navigation, emphasising the need for coordinated international action to reopen the Strait and support global economic stability.

From Türkiye, the Foreign Secretary travelled to Dubai, where she met with Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. She reiterated the UK's strong support for the UAE and wider Gulf partners, and the UK's commitment to a long‑term diplomatic resolution that protects regional stability, the global economy and freedom of navigation.

Across her engagements in Europe and the Middle East, the Foreign Secretary has made clear that the recent crisis demonstrates how national security and economic prosperity are increasingly intertwined, and that economic resilience must sit at the heart of modern foreign policy.

The Foreign Secretary will next travel to Japan, a vital G7 partner, the world's fourth largest economy, and a maritime island nation that, like the UK, is exposed to global economic shocks - and a is a crucial influential nation in Asia where oil and gas supply and petrochemicals are being significantly affected by restrictions through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Japan has joined UK-led efforts to support a resumption of free passage in the Strait of Hormuz, and in recent days has announced a new cooperation framework with its Asian counterparts pledging $10 billion in financial aid to support neighbours, especially in Southeast Asia, to secure energy.

Japan is a natural ally in the UK's efforts to strengthen global economic and energy resilience, with shared challenges being acutely felt by households in both countries.

During her visit, the Foreign Secretary will highlight concrete examples of UK‑Japan cooperation in responding to this new age of volatility — from defence collaboration and technological innovation to joint work on renewable energy and resilient supply chains, areas whose importance has been sharply reinforced by the recent conflict.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

“This is a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the ceasefire looming. Further talks on a lasting settlement are welcome – they must lead to a toll-free Strait of Hormuz. 

“Proposals have been circulating from Iran to introduce tolls on the Strait once the conflict is concluded. Since the call I convened with more than 40 countries at the start of April, we have been working to build an international consensus both on the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and on the principle that freedom of navigation must be restored in full, without restrictions or tolls. It is clear to me from my talks that an increasing number of countries are now joining the UK in insisting that there is no sustainable resolution to the closure of Hormuz that leaves the Iranian regime charging for access.

“I will continue those talks in Japan today, because if there is one thing we all know, this argument is not just about the Strait of Hormuz, it is about the precedent this will set for freedom of navigation all over the world. If the wrong precedent is set, it would be deeply damaging not just for the global economy, but for global security, and that is why it is an argument we must win.”