Keir Starmer says a lot of work remains to make US-Iran ceasefire hold

Sir Keir Starmer has said there is a "lot of work to do" to make the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US hold and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The prime minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as part of a visit to Gulf allies to discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the agreement. He said fully reopening the vital shipping route to restore oil and gas supplies would help "stabilise" prices in the UK. The ceasefire comes after US President Donald Trump threatened a "whole civilisation" would "die" if Iran did not agree to end the war and unblock the strait - comments that led Downing Street to call again for "de-escalation". Sir Keir said there was a sense of "relief" following the ceasefire but he acknowledged it was "early days". His remarks came as Iranian media reported that oil tankers had stopped passing through the strait, as Israel said it had hit Lebanon with the "biggest strikes" since its ground operation began. Pakistan - which acted as an intermediary in the ceasefire talks - and Iran said the deal covered Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian proxy Hezbollah. But Israel has said the two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.