US President Donald Trump’s demand for European allies to help secure the passage of oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was a major talking point at today’s meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.
Some member states indicated that they do not want NATO to be involved in guarding the strait, which was closed by Iran to most traffic in reponse to the US-Israeli bombing campaign.
Europeans are unwilling to deploy troops to secure the Strait of Hormuz, “because that adds them to the list of potential targets” for Iran, Charles Hecker, Associate Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told DW.
At the start of the meeting the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallass said it was in the bloc’s “interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” and added the EU was in touch with “US colleagues on different levels.”
However, at the end of the meeting she said that there was “no appetite” among member states to expand the EU’s maritime mission to the Strait of Hormuz, “for now.”
Spiking energy prices across the continent, and ensuing energy crises have further imperiled the already frayed relationship between Europe and Washington.
EU ministers also assessed how the conflict may deal a stronger hand to Russia, which could use the additional funding from its fossil fuel exports to supports its war in Ukraine.
“The only winner really out of the war on Iran right now is Russia,” said Hecker.
Trump strong-arms Europe to protect Strait of Hormuz
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump upped the pressure on countries that receive energy supplies via the Strait of Hormuz to ensure security of the waterway, which usually sees around 20% of the world’s crude oil supply pass through it.
Even though the buyers of these shipments are primarily Asian nations, Trump has appeared to yet again threaten the NATO alliance.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he said in an interview with The Financial Times. “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
Hecker said this was an attempt by Trump to try and get Europeans more actively engaged in the US and Israel’s war on iran.
“We have yet to see what kind of threat the president is making against NATO and how he would carry that out. But he’s doing everything he can to try to exercise leverage against the countries that he’d like to bring into the conflict.”
Trump has called on France and the United Kingdom in particular to join the effort, but Hecker said neither was likely to get involved whilst fighting was still going on.
“They’re not ready to join in the United States military efforts in the Strait of Hormuz and probably won’t be for the foreseeable future,” He added. And not only because it makes them an Iranian target, but also because they are unclear about US and Israel’s objectives and strategy in the war.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters he did not see a role for NATO in securing the strait and added that he expected Europeans to be informed by the US and Israel of their objectives and plans.
“I don’t see that NATO has made any decision in this direction or could assume responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz. If that were the case, then the NATO bodies would address it accordingly,” Wadephul said ahead of the meeting of the EU ministers.
France, however, has expressed more flexibility. French president Emmanuel Macron said it would be willing to help secure the strait “once the hottest phase of the conflict is over.”
Europe hurt by rise in energy prices
The EU is already being battered by the economic costs of the blockade.
“Since the beginning of the conflict, gas prices have risen by 50 percent and oil prices by 27 percent,” said European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In just 10 days of the Iran war, European taxpayers have paid an extra €3 billion for fossil fuel imports, she told the European Parliament.
“Europe is neither an oil nor a gas producer. For fossil fuels we are completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports, putting us at a structural disadvantage to other regions,” she added. “The current Middle East crisis gives a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities this creates.”
In a bid to reduce energy prices, European countries — including France, Germany, Italy and the UK — backed the decision to release millions of barrels of oil alongside other members of the G7.The International Energy Agency has called for the release of 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves.
While von der Leyen warned against reversing policy on purchasing Russian Fossil fuels, the EU is painfully aware of the windfall Iran’s war is providing to Russia.
Is Russia the biggest beneficiary of the war in Iran?
As Iran whizzed missiles and drones towards hotels, airports and even oil refineries in the Gulf, and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, Russia stood ready to take advantage.
When oil prices rose to €87.20 ($100), the highest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow presented its energy resources as an option for desperate buyers.
“Russia was and continues to be a reliable supplier of both oil and gas,” said Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, while Kremlin aide Kirill Dmitriev chastised Europe’s decision to wean itself off Russian energy as a strategic error.
In an attempt to contain the price rise, Trump temporarily lifted some sanctions on purchase of Russian oil, including a 30 day exemption for India.
Europeans are worried that a spike in energy prices will boost Russian income and allow it to drag out or even intensify the war against Ukraine.
An additional worry is that key defense equipment needed for Ukraine, such as Patriot missiles that Europe often buys from the US for Ukraine, may now be diverted to the Gulf.
Kallas has noted that there is a “direct impact” of the war in Iran on Ukraine as “defense capabilities that are needed in Ukraine,” are now also “moving to the Middle East.”
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Gulf has used more Patriot missiles in the first few days of Iranian strikes than Ukraine since Russia attacked Ukraine four years ago.
Ukraine has offered its anti-drone technology to Gulf countries in the hope they can use Ukraine’s indigenous counter-attacking drones and preserve the Patriots only for missile attacks.
“Ukraine has years’ worth of experience intercepting Russian Shahed-type drones — the same Iran is firing at its neighbors. Ukrainian defense industry also developed battle-tested counter-drone systems it is offering to Gulf countries,” Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW.
The idea is to “lessen the demand for Patriot interceptors in the Gulf so that Ukraine may receive more going forward,” Loss said.
Edited by: Ruairi Casey