A coalition of about 30 nations are to discuss plans to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane in the Middle East, at a virtual summit hosted by the UK on Thursday.

The summit is expected to consider what diplomatic and political steps could be taken to reopen the important shipping route, though the US was not set to attend.

Iran has attacked several vessels in the strait in response to the war waged against it by the US and Israel, severely disrupting energy exports and sending global fuel prices soaring.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said it was for other nations to "build up some delayed courage" and reopen the route.

Trump said allies "should have done it" earlier, adding: "Go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves."

Washington has repeatedly accused allies of not doing enough to secure the shipping route or to support its war effort, leaving the UK and other nations weighing how to contribute to securing the strait without becoming involved in the wider war.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to chair Thursday's virtual meeting.

The summit was expected to involve governments which signed a joint statement in mid-March calling on Iranian forces to halt attacks against commercial ships.

That statement was supported by some Gulf nations, as well as France, Germany, Japan, Australia and others.

The statement says: "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."

The talks come a day after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was "exploring each and every diplomatic avenue that is available" to reopen the route.

He also said British military planners would consider what could be done in the future to "make the Strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped".

At the same time, governments around the world are weighing how to respond to cost-of-living pressures triggered by rising energy prices.

About a fifth of the world's oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, has jumped from $73 (ยฃ55) to well over $100 in recent weeks.

The US president's first televised address of the conflict with Iran did little to quell uneasy markets.

There were some glaring omissions in the president's primetime address, writes the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue.

The president also called on countries reliant on the Strait of Hormuz to 'build up the courage' to secure it.

Delhi is abuzz as Pakistan plays Iran go-between. Is India being sidelined in a shifting US-Iran equation?

The war with Iran has not yet resolved any of Israel's regional conflicts in the way its prime minister suggested it would.