UK households in line for relief as US-Iran deal reopens Strait of Hormuz: Starmer
Key Points
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed a US-Iran agreement reached on 14 June 2026 that reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway carrying around 20% of global energy supply.
- The closure since late February drove UK petrol to 158.74p and diesel to 184.11p a litre by early June, the highest in over two years, and lifted household gas and electricity bills.
- Starmer said restoring toll-free navigation should begin easing the economic pressure on UK families, but warned implementation, technical talks and nuclear verification still lie ahead.
- A separate risk remains for motorists, as the 5p fuel duty cut expires at the end of August before staged duty rises from September.
UK households could see relief from petrol prices near 159p a litre after the United States and Iran agreed a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.
Starmer warmly welcomed the agreement, announced on Sunday evening (14 June), describing it as a hugely important step forward in ending the war, ensuring regional stability and reopening the waterway.
He congratulated US President Donald Trump and the mediators from Pakistan, Qatar and elsewhere who helped reach the breakthrough, saying the UK had long urged the de-escalation now taking shape.
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of the world’s energy supply and about a quarter of its seaborne oil.
Iran closed the waterway in late February after US and Israeli strikes, removing a large share of global supply almost overnight and pushing wholesale oil and gas costs sharply higher. Those increases fed straight through to UK forecourts and energy bills over the following months.
Average UK petrol reached 158.74p a litre and diesel 184.11p in early June, the highest in more than two years, according to pricing data tracked across UK forecourts.
Diesel rose every day for 40 consecutive days before its first small dip in mid-April. The pressure stretched well beyond the pumps, as the UK imports around a third of its energy as liquefied natural gas, much of it routed through or near the affected region, lifting household gas and electricity costs.
The strain also showed clearly in public sentiment. Polling by Ipsos in April found 87% of Britons worried about the personal impact of the closure on the cost of food and petrol, a level of economic anxiety the firm said rivalled any period in nearly 50 years of its trends.
Relief may not come quickly
Starmer tied the deal directly to those household pressures. He said toll-free freedom of navigation must now be restored in the Strait of Hormuz to begin easing the severe economic impacts felt for several months by families in the UK and around the world.
However, the Prime Minister cautioned that the work is not finished. He said attention must now turn to implementing the memorandum of understanding so the Strait stays fully and permanently open, and that the UK stands ready to support the technical talks beginning now.
He added that the UK and France remain ready to stand up a defensive, independent multilateral mission, including support on mine clearance, if the situation requires it.
Drivers also face a separate pressure later in 2026. The government’s 5p a litre fuel duty cut expires at the end of August, with duty then rising in stages from September, so pump prices could climb again even as wholesale costs settle.
Starmer said any lasting peace depends on Iran’s nuclear commitments being robust, verifiable and fully implemented, repeating the UK’s longstanding position that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon.
