The United States-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping gained two significant new dimensions Monday, as the United Kingdom confirmed it had permitted American forces to use British military bases for strikes against Iranian targets near the waterway, and Belgium indicated it would consider participating in a multilateral naval coalition to secure the strait — provided a ceasefire framework was first in place.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to open British facilities to American operations marks a sharp escalation in the UK's role in the conflict. The UK has the most consequential military footprint in the region outside American forces, with the Royal Air Force operating out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and substantial naval assets based in Bahrain under the UK Maritime Component Command. Neither government specified which bases or assets were involved, and no official joint operational statement was issued, but multiple British and American officials confirmed the arrangement to journalists from The Guardian and the BBC.
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