The Daily Populous Friday March 20th, 2026 night edition
Authored by gov.uk and submitted by TheColourOfHeartache

We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.

We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817.

Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The effects of Iran’s actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable.

Consistent with UNSC Resolution 2817, we emphasise that such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains constitute a threat to international peace and security. In this regard, we call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations.

We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.

We welcome the International Energy Agency decision to authorise a coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves. We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output.

We will also work to provide support for the most affected nations, including through the United Nations and the IFIs.

Maritime security and freedom of navigation benefit all countries. We call on all states to respect international law and uphold the fundamental principles of international prosperity and security.

robbierobfantastic on March 19th, 2026 at 16:07 UTC »

A lot of these comments are calling this fluff, but I see some well calculated diplomacy. They’re saying they condemn the action of Iran in the straight, offer a path to disengage, and say they’ll follow UN & international protocols instead of aligning with the rogue US and Israel regimes.

obliviousofobvious on March 19th, 2026 at 15:25 UTC »

There's a real opportunity for the world to do something REALLY hilarious with renewables.

Imagine if this was the event that pushed the Sane world into moving more towards energy independence.

YellowIllustrious991 on March 19th, 2026 at 14:24 UTC »

For those interested, these are the only bits of this statement that actually matter in my opinion -

> We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.

> We welcome the International Energy Agency decision to authorise a coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves. We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output.

> We will also work to provide support for the most affected nations, including through the United Nations and the IFIs.

Everything else is essentially just complaining and words on paper.