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European Union foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss rising oil prices amid the US-Israel war against Iran, with European leaders rejecting US President Donald Trump’s request to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
German Foreign Minister Johann Vardepur said on Monday that Berlin had no intention of participating in military operations during the conflict.
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“We hope that the United States and Israel will provide us with information, involve us in what they are doing there, and tell us whether these goals have been achieved,” he told reporters before a meeting in Brussels.
“Once we have a clear picture of that, I think we need to move to the next step, which is to work with our neighbors to define the security architecture for the entire region,” he said.
Wadepulu added that NATO had not made any decisions about assuming responsibility in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Trump on Sunday asked the naval coalition to send warships to secure the crucial Gulf waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments pass.
Since February 28, the strait has been effectively closed as a result of the war, in which the United States and Israel have launched deadly attacks across Iran. Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones across the Middle East, disrupting global energy markets.
President Trump’s call for countries to secure waterways despite soaring oil and gas prices has been met with opposition from several European countries.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Monday that Greece would not be involved in any military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, while Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy was not involved in any naval mission that could be extended to the Strait of Hormuz. area.
But Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Europe should remain open-minded in helping to ensure freedom of navigation. In this strait, even if the continent did not support the US and Israeli decision to go to war with Iran.
“We have to face the world as it is, not as we want it to be,” Rasmussen said, adding that the EU needed to decide on a plan “for de-escalation”.
Meanwhile, Britain is working on a joint plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation in the Middle East, but said it will not be easy.
EU feels pressure from President Trump
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Callas told reporters before the meeting in Brussels that EU leaders would focus on how the bloc could help reopen the waterway.
“First we need to discuss what member states intend to do in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “Of course, the need to open the Strait of Hormuz still exists.”
Karas said the strait closure has pushed oil prices to more than $100 a barrel, benefiting Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is largely financed by Russian energy revenues.
Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Stepp Wassen said what is clear is that European leaders “are increasingly feeling pressure from President Trump to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
“There is little appetite[on the part of EU leaders]to join the war, especially because they feel left out,” Vassen said. “They will discuss how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but that doesn’t necessarily mean sending in warships.”
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, President Trump said NATO faced a “very bad” future if his proposal for military operations in the Strait received no response or was negative.
France has suggested the EU could expand Mission Aspides, a small naval mission established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea.
Italian and Greek ships are currently under direct command, and a French ship and another Italian ship may also be asked to assist.
However, Germany is one of the EU member states to express skepticism about this idea.
“What does President Trump expect a few or two European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot do?” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin. “This is not our war. We did not start it.”
Asked about President Trump’s comments on the future of NATO, Pistorius said he did not expect the alliance to collapse over the issue.
