Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, and Yvette Cooper, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, discussed in a telephone call the latest developments in the region, as well as the means to defuse escalation and advance political and diplomatic solutions to restore safe maritime navigation in the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz, in support of global economic stability.
The two ministers underscored the importance of sustaining efforts to contain tensions and strengthen dialogue mechanisms, thereby contributing to the consolidation of regional and international security and stability.
Sayyid Badr also held a telephone conversation with Shaikh Jarah Jaber Al Ahmad al Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait. The discussion focused on the latest regional developments, particularly efforts aimed at de-escalation, consolidating political approaches, prioritising the logic of dialogue and mutual understanding, and preserving the gains of regional security and stability.
Meanwhile, the US said a shaky ceasefire was intact despite an exchange of fire the previous day as US forces attempted to force open the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, after President Donald Trump sent the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign he called "Project Freedom".
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation to protect commercial ships was temporary and the four-week-old truce was not over. "We're not looking for a fight," he told a press conference.
"Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we're going to be watching very, very closely."
Iran fired missiles at US ships on Monday and attacked the UAE with missiles and drones. Shortly after Hegseth spoke on Tuesday, the UAE's defence ministry said its air defences were again dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran.
Earlier Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had said breaches of the ceasefire by the US and its allies endangered shipping through the strait, which carries a large share of the world's oil and fertiliser supplies.
"We know well that the continuation of the current situation is unbearable for the United States, while we have not even begun yet," he said in a social media post.
The narrow strait has been virtually shut since the United States and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, triggering disruptions that have pushed up commodity prices around the world.
Hegseth said the US had successfully secured a path through the critical waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through.
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