UK foreign minister: Russia, Iran trying to ‘hijack global economy'

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has accused Russia and Iran of attempting to "hijack the global economy" as Tehran continued to blockade a key oil shipping route.

Iran's new supreme leader has vowed to continue attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for ongoing US-Israeli strikes on his country.

The blockade has seen oil prices jump to around $100 per barrel, threatening higher inflation across the globe.

Speaking to the Press Association during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the UK foreign secretary linked the threat from Iran to that from Russia, a key ally of Tehran.

She said: "We have seen these links between Russia and Iran over an extended period of time.

"We're seeing it in terms of technology, we see it in terms of the approach, we see it in terms of these kinds of tactics, and we see it in terms of the way these two states try to support each other and try to benefit together from attempting to hijack the global economy."

She added: "We are very clear about the threat from both Russia and from Iran to the global economy and to all of our wellbeing."

But Cooper declined to criticize the easing of USsanctions on some Russian oil in the face of rising prices, saying it was a "specific, targeted issue."

In a bid to ease global pressures, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced early on Friday that the US would provide a temporary authorization for countries to buy Russian oil already loaded on vessels at sea.

"This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government," he said in a post on X.

Cooper visited a British military base in Saudi Arabia on Friday to speak to troops protecting the country's critical national infrastructure.

The foreign secretary spoke to soldiers from 9 (Plassey) Battery, Royal Artillery, who operate air defence systems.

The base is part of a long-running deployment providing air defence support for Saudi Arabia, which began in 2022 at Riyadh's invitation following a one-way drone attack on the country.