The European Union is rejecting Trump's calls to send troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
London – The European Union – a 27-nation bloc that includes some of America's closest allies – made it clear on Tuesday that it would not be a race to meet President Trump's requests for military aid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
I a war launched by the US and Israel against Iran has seen traffic on a key shipping lane come to a near standstill due to Tehran's retaliatory missile and drone fire across the Persian Gulf. About a fifth of all crude oil used goes by road, so the ban is over caused a sharp rise in world energy prices.
Mr. Trump has issued repeated demands that America's European allies be cut off from the plans ahead of the summit. the attack on Iranuse warships to help protect commercial ships roaming the seas.
“No one is ready to put their people in danger in the Strait of Hormuz,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters news agency on Tuesday. “We have to find ways to work together to keep this open so we don't have a food problem, a fertilizer problem, and an energy problem.”
Mr. Trump has focused heavy criticism in recent days on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has also refused to commit to any specific aid in the Persian Gulf other than to protect British interests and allies from an attack on Iran.
On Monday, Starmer said the UK “will not go into a full-scale war” but “we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the market. That is not an easy task.”
Starmer said the UK is working with all its partners, “to put together an effective, integrated plan that can restore freedom of movement in the region as quickly as possible and mitigate the economic impacts.”
He said that at all stages of the conflict in Iran, he stands by his principles, “that our decisions must be based on a calm, high-level assessment of the British national interest. And that if we are going to send our servicemen and women into harm's way, the least they need to know is that they are doing so on the basis of law and with the right perspective, with a plan.”
“My leadership is about representing the British interest, even under pressure,” Starmer said. “And I believe that time will show that we have the right approach.”
Kallas said on Monday that the EU could expand its military mission of Operation Aspides to protect shipping in the Red Sea up to the Persian Gulf, or that it could create a “coalition of the willing” among member states to provide military forces in the interim.
France has also expressed willingness to cooperate with other countries in a possible international operation to escort ships to port, but only after fighting in the region has subsided.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that it was important for the US and Israel to set “when they consider that the military objectives of their deployment have been achieved,” adding: “We need more clarity here.”
And Luxembourg's Foreign Minister, Xavier Bettel, said on Monday that the EU was not committed to fighting.
“The truth is that, at the moment, the EU is not part of the situation directly. So we need to decide whether we will be part or not. This is an important decision,” said Bettel.
Mr. Trump on Monday said “a lot of countries told me they're on the way. Some are very interested, and some are not. Some countries we've helped for too many years – we've protected them from foreign threats – and they weren't enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm, enthusiasm, is important to me.”
