19 hours ago

Hafsa Khalil and

Richard Wheeler, Political reporter

Reuters

The amount of cargo traffic near the Strait of Hormuz has drastically decreased since war broke out

The UK and its allies have agreed to explore using sanctions to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Representatives from more than 40 countries took part in a virtual summit on Thursday billed as the beginning of efforts to assemble a coalition capable of ensuring security in the Gulf shipping channel.

Cooper said Iran has been able to "hijack" the international shipping route to "hold the global economy hostage" following the talks, which the US was not involved in.

Iran has attacked several vessels in response to the war waged against it by the US and Israel, disrupting energy exports and sending global fuel prices soaring.

Cooper noted the focus of the talks was on diplomatic measures as opposed to military options, adding the countries want to use "every possible…