Australia’s Albanese says US has not requested help with blockade

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Canberra has not received any request from the United States to support a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the move as a unilateral decision by Washington.

“We’ve received no requests… we haven’t been asked to participate,” Albanese said, adding Australia does not expect to deploy ships and wants negotiations between Washington and Tehran to continue.

He urged a return to diplomacy, warning that the conflict is causing loss of life, damaging infrastructure and weighing heavily on the global economy.