Anthony Albanese to join virtual global meeting on reopening Strait of Hormuz
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The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will join more than 40 world leaders in a virtual meeting to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The context: Albanese will attend the meeting, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on Friday evening.
The hook-up will not include US President Donald Trump, whose attack on Iran, launched in tandem with Israel, has seen Tehran retaliate by shutting the strategically-vital strait.
After initially backing the attack, the Albanese government has called for a permanent ceasefire, but warned the war will have long-term economic impacts even were it to end immediately.
Trump responded to the immediate breakdown of a two-week ceasefire this month by launching a blockade of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil travels.
The president has also launched broadsides against traditional US allies, including Australia, for declining to support the war more deeply, and has singled-out Macron and Starmer for personal criticism.
European powers and their like-minded allies have scrambled, amid mixed messages from Trump over his approach to the strait.
Trump claimed earlier this month that the US will soon wind down its war on Iran, ordering allies to “grab [the strait] and cherish it”. He has since launched the blockade without US allies, promising to “permanently open” the strait this morning.
Australia has insisted it will not join efforts until a stable ceasefire is struck, while Albanese repeated this morning that Australia had not received a specific request for support from Washington.
What they said: “Australia and our Indo-Pacific partners are experiencing first-hand the impact of unprecedented disruptions to energy supply chains and impact on oil and fuel prices,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Here in Australia we are working around the clock to shield Australians from the worst of the impacts,” he said.
“Australia is calling for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened for all countries.”
The sources: Prime Minister’s statement, The Independent , Associated Press
