British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Friday that NATO was "in America's interests" as he ended a three-day visit to the Gulf to discuss bolstering the "fragile" Middle East truce.
Starmer's comments followed US President Donald Trump's renewed attacks this week on the Western military alliance and his threats to withdraw from it, after a refusal by NATO allies to join the US-Israel war against Iran.
"It is in America's interests. It's in European interests," Starmer told UK broadcasters of the nearly 80-year-old security bloc.
"NATO is a defensive alliance, which for decades has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have been," he added, while reiterating European members "need to do more" financial burden sharing.
Starmer spoke before leaving Qatar, the last stop of his tour of the war-hit region which also included visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The British leader talked by phone to Trump late on Thursday, when he said he set out "the views of the region here" to the US president, primarily centred on the Strait of Hormuz .
The crucial maritime chokepoint has remained largely closed in recent days.
It was due to be re-opened under a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran , announced this week, but has been jeopardised by Israeli attacks on Lebanon and accusations that the truce is not being implemented.
"We spent most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan that's going to be needed to get navigation through the Strait and the role that the UK is playing," Starmer said.
He said the UK was building a coalition of over 30 countries to work on a diplomatic and military plan to get vessels moving through the waterway.
According to the Press Association , Starmer said on Thursday he had discussed the "fragile" nature of the US-Iran ceasefire with Gulf allies, stressing that securing a lasting truce would require sustained action rather than rhetoric.
Following talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Starmer told broadcasters that regional leaders were still grappling with the shock of recent attacks.
“I think the mood is very much one of the shock that they were attacked in the first place, because of course they weren’t attacking Iran, and the intensity of some of the attacks," he said.
Starmer added: "Relief that there’s now a ceasefire. I think a general sense that it’s fragile, that there’s work to do in relation to it."
He added that discussions also focused on the joint efforts undertaken over recent weeks, including collective defence measures and military capabilities, as well as an opportunity to thank UK personnel deployed in the region.
“And an opportunity frankly for me to say thank you to our personnel who are out here, who’ve been, many of the pilots have been working from about two hours after the conflict started.”
Starmer also argued the importance of standing by long-standing allies and maintaining close cooperation to stabilise the situation.
The Prime Minister said: “But I’m very clear that one, it’s very important we stand with our longstanding allies and be here showing our support and reflecting on the work we’re doing together. And for them, a sense that we’re a friend that’s come at this time to have these really important discussions with them and to make sure the ceasefire is a permanent ceasefire and that the strait of Hormuz is open."
He continued: "And that takes more than just words. It takes a lot of action."
However, ahead of Starmer’s Gulf tour, crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said the UK was "not playing a role in peace negotiations" between the United States and Iran.
Speaking to Sky News , she emphasised that Britain’s involvement remained limited to supporting allies while avoiding direct offensive action.
"Our role is working with our allies, sticking to the principles of what our principles have been throughout this, which is we are not doing any offensive action here.
"We are very much there, playing a defensive role, but an important one."