European leaders have rejected demands by United States President Donald Trump to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
At a European Union meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss soaring oil prices amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin had no intention of joining military operations in the conflict.
‘We need more clarity here,’ Wadephul told reporters before the meeting. ‘We expect the US and Israel to inform us, to include us in what they’re doing there, and to tell us if these goals are achieved.’
‘Once we have a clear picture of that, we believe we should move to the next phase — defining a security architecture for the whole region, together with the neighbouring states,’ he said.
Speaking from Berlin, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said his country would offer ‘no military participation’ but was ready to support diplomatic efforts ‘to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.’
‘This is not our war. We have not started it,’ Pistorius said. ‘What does Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot do?’
Also in Berlin, a spokesman for Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the conflict ‘has nothing to do with NATO.’ Stefan Kornelius told reporters NATO was ‘an alliance for the defence of territory,’ and added that ‘the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking.’