NATO allies refuse to join Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade

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LONDON/PARIS - The United States’ NATO allies said on April 13 they would not get involved in US President Donald Trump’s plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, further ratcheting up tensions within the increasingly fragile alliance.

Mr Trump said the US military would work with other countries to block all maritime traffic in the waterway, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week conflict with Iran.

The US military later specified that the blockade, due to start at 1400 GMT on April 13, would apply only to ships going to or from Iranian ports.

“The blockade will begin shortly. Other countries will be involved with this blockade,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social on April 12.

But NATO allies, including Britain and France, said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, saying instead that it was vital to open the waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, which Iran has effectively closed since the conflict began on Feb 28.

Their refusal to participate is yet another point of friction with Mr Trump, who has threatened to withdraw from the military alliance and is weighing pulling some US troops from Europe after several countries resisted supporting the US campaign against Iran by denying US military planes use of their airspace.

“We’re not supporting the blockade,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC.

“My decision has been very clear that whatever the pressure – and there’s been some considerable pressure – we’re not getting dragged into the war.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told European governments that Mr Trump wants concrete commitments in the near future to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats told Reuters last week.

NATO could play a role in the strait if its 32 members could agree on the formation of a mission, Mr Rutte said on April 9.

Several European countries have said they are willing to help in the strait, but only once there is a durable ​end to hostilities and an agreement with Iran that their ships will not be attacked.

France will organise a conference with Britain and other countries to create a multinational mission to restore navigation in the strait, French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media platform X on April 13.

“This strictly defensive mission, distinct from the belligerents, will be deployed as soon as the situation allows,” Mr Macron said.

The initiative aims to establish rules for safe passage and the coordination of military vessels to escort tankers, Mr Starmer said in Parliament on April 13.

“Let me be very clear, this is about safeguarding shipping and supporting freedom of navigation once the conflict ends. Our shared aim here is a coordinated, independent, multi-national plan,” he said.

A meeting to draw up plans for the mission could happen as soon as April 16 in Paris or London, said a French diplomatic source.

The initiative involving about 30 countries, including Gulf countries, India, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, aims to establish rules for safe passage and the coordination of military vessels to escort tankers, the source said.

Those military ships would provide reassurance without being belligerent, the source said, adding that Iran and the US would be informed of the mission but play no direct part.

Britain is working on ways to reduce insurance premiums for ships passing through the strait once the fighting has stopped, according to a senior European official.

The Strait of Hormuz should be reopened by diplomacy, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on April 13, adding that creating an international force to oversee it would be complicated as he called for NATO to reset its ties with Mr Trump at a summit in Ankara in July. REUTERS