The European Union has rejected President Trump’s request to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, saying the war is “not theirs.”
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels today to talk about possible responses to the escalation of the war in Iran, including President Trump’s demand for assistance in opening the Strait of Hormuz. Now, normally, about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas goes through this body of water off the coast of Iran. But the start of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on that country has brought most traffic to a standstill, roiling energy markets and sending up the price of gasoline. Despite that, EU leaders are expressing unwillingness to help, saying that the war is not theirs. For more on this, we’re joined now by Teri Schultz in Brussels. Hi, Teri.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hi. So where did the discussions land today among all these foreign ministers?
SCHULTZ: Well, EU foreign ministers seem to all be on the same page here, and that page is not the one Donald Trump wants them on. The EU already has a naval mission in the region, Operation Aspides. But this is primarily focused on protecting navigation in the Red Sea. EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, put on the table some options for expanding the mandate of this operation to possibly guarding ships in the Strait of Hormuz, as well. And the consensus was, no. This is how Kallas explained their conclusions.
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KAJA KALLAS: For the time being, there was no appetite in changing the mandate of the Operation Aspides for now. While the Strait of Hormuz is at the center stage, the Red Sea also remains critical.
SCHULTZ: So while it’s possible European nations send more ships to this existing operation, at the moment, they cannot and will not be deployed to the Strait of Hormuz. Kallas had also discussed with the U.N. chief possibly seeking negotiations for a truce to allow some shipments through the strait, for example, of fertilizer and food, in addition to fuel. But that suggestion apparently didn’t go anywhere either.
CHANG: Now, it’s specifically NATO that President Trump has been pressuring to get involved, and many of the countries that met today are actually the same ones that would be part of any NATO operation, right? So is there any chance of, like, a different outcome in that organization, you think?
SCHULTZ: Not at the moment. So far, it appears that Trump has not even made a formal request to NATO for backup. There will be a meeting of NATO ambassadors tomorrow to discuss what they’re calling situational awareness in the Middle East, but that doesn’t presuppose anything. And since 23 of the 32 NATO allies are also members of the European Union, they’ve already had discussions on one side of town and expressed their unwillingness to get involved. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country is in NATO but not in the EU, has now added his voice to theirs.
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PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: First, we will protect our people in the region. Second, while taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war. And third, we will keep working towards a swift resolution that brings security and stability back to the region.
SCHULTZ: So suffice it to say, despite Trump’s latest expressions of displeasure at the responses of his allies, it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to provide the U.S. military assets at the moment, sending perhaps only additional resources to protect their own military bases and evacuate their own civilians.
CHANG: I mean, yeah, Europe is already pouring military resources into a whole other war – the war in Ukraine, right? So how much of an impact is the conflict in the Middle East going to have on that, you think?
SCHULTZ: Yeah, this is something that’s really worrying Europeans. Ukraine is in constant need of more air defenses, which Europeans have been buying from the U.S. under a deal brokered by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. But supplies are finite, and if the U.S. needs these weapons to protect itself in the Middle East, it’s not going to be selling them to allies to send to Ukraine.
CHANG: That is Teri Schultz in Brussels. Thank you, Teri.
SCHULTZ: You’re welcome.
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