Several United States allies have rejected a request by President Donald Trump for military support to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying they had no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the vital waterway.
Trump called on nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles, and mines to effectively close the channel for tankers that normally transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
Germany, Spain, and Italy were among allies that ruled out participating in any mission in the Gulf on Monday, March 16, 2026.
Other countries were more circumspect, with Britain and Denmark saying they would consider ways they might help, but emphasising a need to de-escalate and avoid getting dragged into the war.
“What does Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot do?” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Monday, as he downplayed threats by Trump that failing to come to Washington’s aid could have consequences for the NATO alliance.
“This is not our war, we have not started it,” he added.
German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the conflict has nothing to do with NATO and Germany has no plans to be drawn into it.
“Neither the United States nor Israel consulted us before the war, and Washington explicitly stated at the outset of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired,” the spokesperson said.
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Spain said it would not do anything that could escalate the conflict, while Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said sending military ships to a war zone would be interpreted as joining the conflict.
“Italy is not at war with anyone and sending military ships in a war zone would mean entering the war,” Salvini told reporters in Milan.
NATO countries, several of whom have been at the sharp end of criticism from Trump in recent months, are wary of angering the White House, and some signalled willingness to help find a solution, even if plans remain vague for now.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters the bloc was in talks with the United Nations about replicating a deal that had been used to allow grain to be exported out of Ukraine during its war with Russia.
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