Reopening Strait of Hormuz is a 'matter of life and death', David Miliband warns as he hails Starmer's approach to Iran war
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a matter of “life or death”, David Miliband has warned as the US and Israel continue their war with Iran in the Middle East.
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Speaking to LBC’s Andrew Marr, the former Foreign Secretary said fuel shortages caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz could put at risk areas of the globe on a “slow motion famine march.”
Mr Miliband also hailed Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to the conflict, saying he has “put Britain first.”
When asked about the consequences of the US and Israel’s war with Iran could be for the people of the Middle East, he told LBC: “It was a war of choice and it's produced a series of very unappealing choices.
“That's the contours of the conflict as we see it now. If it ends today, if it were to end today, there would be serious damage. There's no question about it.
“If it goes on and becomes a months long event, then it will have very, very significant damage. And it's very, very unclear what the benefits are.”
One of the most serious consequences of the Strait’s closure could be a lack of fertiliser reaching communities already suffering humanitarian crises.
He said: “There's 340 million people in the world who are at crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger.
“And the prospect that fertiliser is not going to be put onto the soil this season with the next few weeks are absolutely key means that as sure as night follows day, if that happens, if that fertiliser doesn't get delivered, 30% of the world's fertiliser goes through the Straits of Hormuz.
“If in the next few weeks that fertiliser doesn't go through and isn't put on the ground, we know that in four to six months, it's what this Council on Foreign Relations call a slow-motion famine march. That's what we're seeing.
“We're talking about a humanitarian triple whammy,” Mr Miliband added.
“And the first part is the direct impact in the countries affected by the conflict, Iran and Lebanon.
“Second part, food prices, energy prices, fertiliser supplies interrupted, humanitarian supplies interrupted. Third part is the wider geopolitics.
“And obviously, everyone has to be concerned that the war in Ukraine gets prolonged.”
Sir Keir Starmer has acted in Britain’s best interests since the outbreak of this US and Israeli war on Iran, he added.