Germany, Italy and Others Decline Trump’s Call for Hormuz Warships

Germany and Italy said on Monday they would not send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing President Trump’s request that allies help escort merchant vessels through the waterway that Iran has effectively closed. The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, Reuters reported, and The New York Times said tanker traffic is all but stopped.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, “This is not our war, we have not started it,” according to Reuters. The New York Times reported he added that more warships would likely not help bring the conflict to a diplomatic end. A German government spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, said Germany had no plans to be drawn in and that Washington had said at the start of the war that European help was not wanted, Reuters reported.

In Italy, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said, “Italy is not at war with anyone and sending military ships in a war zone would mean entering the war,” Reuters reported. The New York Times also listed Italy among the countries that said they would not take part. Reuters added that Spain said it would not do anything that could escalate the conflict.

The New York Times reported that Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, told parliament her country had no plans to send its navy to the Gulf, and that Australia’s transport minister, Catherine King, said it was not something Australia had been asked to do or was contributing to.

Other governments were more cautious. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was working with allies on a plan to secure navigation through the strait but that it would not be easy and that the country would not be drawn into a wider war, according to both Reuters and The New York Times. Reuters said Denmark’s foreign minister urged Europe to keep an open mind about contributing, while the Netherlands’ foreign minister said “no decision is on the table” on a NATO mission. Greece, which leads the EU’s Aspides mission in the Red Sea, said it would limit its role there, Reuters reported.

Mr. Trump had warned allies of the stakes. He told the Financial Times on Sunday that a negative response would be “very bad for the future of NATO,” The New York Times reported. Reuters said Pistorius downplayed the threat. On Monday, The New York Times reported, the president said at a White House event: “You mean for 40 years we’re protecting you, and you don’t want to get involved in something that’s very minor?” He said he wanted “to find out how they react” and claimed that “numerous countries have told me that they’re on the way” but declined to name them, The New York Times said.

Reuters reported that the European Union is discussing with the United Nations an arrangement modeled on the deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports during the war with Russia, and is weighing whether to expand Aspides to cover Hormuz, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. The New York Times reported that a NATO official said individual allies were talking with the U.S. about what more they might do.