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Andy Burnham, a candidate to lead the UK Labour Party, said if he becomes prime minister he would deal with US President Trump 'straightforwardly' and use his personal style to keep UK-US ties stable. He said Britain should respect the US presidency and the bilateral relationship but would make disagreements clear and 'communicate with him in Trump's way'. Trump previously called Burnham 'extremely liberal' and downplayed his political influence. Burnham is expected to be elected Labour leader unopposed on Thursday and to replace Starmer as prime minister next Monday. UK-US relations, strained by Iran-related tensions and stalled trade talks, will be a near-term challenge for him to repair.

CENTCOM said on July 15 local time US forces enforcing a maritime blockade in the Arabian Gulf disabled a commercial tanker attempting to sail to Kharg Island. The Curaçao-flagged M/T Belma, operating in international waters, ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach the US blockade. A US aircraft fired a Hellfire missile at the ship’s funnel, rendering it unable to navigate and halting its voyage to Iran. CENTCOM said that since the blockade was resumed at 1600 ET on July 14, US forces guided two cooperating merchant vessels to change course within the first 24 hours and disabled one non‑compliant ship. US forces will remain on alert to ensure the blockade is enforced.