To resolve the crisis in the maritime corridor, the American president aims to involve the Atlantic Alliance, while Europe evaluates the strengthening of the Aspides naval mission
It is a race against time to secure the Strait of Hormuz: the United States and Europe are evaluating options to ensure that oil supplies are no longer held hostage by the Pasdaran. The American president, Donald Trump, aims to create a coalition of countries to unblock the maritime corridor and also demands help from NATO, while in Europe discussions have begun to strengthen the Aspides mission.
The American proposal
Trump is working to form a coalition of countries to reopen the Strait and hopes to announce the initiative this week, Axios reported. The tycoon, already in recent days, hoped that “China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and other countries” were ready to “send their ships” to Hormuz. This appeal seems to have gone unheard. Japan and Australia responded sparingly, South Korea took its time, maintaining that it will communicate with the United States and that “the decision will be made after careful consideration.” The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said that the United Kingdom “will not enter into a full-scale war”, but is open to “a viable collective plan” to reopen the strategic corridor. China limited itself to communicating that it was “in contact with all parties”, guaranteeing “a commitment to promoting the cooling of the situation”.
Trump’s jab at NATO
Today the tycoon has raised the bar. During a brief conversation with the Financial TimesTrump warned that NATO’s future will be “very bad” if allies do not support cross-Strait security. And he added: “It is right that those who benefit from the Strait contribute to ensuring that nothing bad happens.” In his vision, Europeans should send minesweepers since the Old Continent has more minesweepers than the United States.
«It’s not our war»
Germany responded in kind to Trump. The German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, immediately stated: “It does not seem to me that NATO has made a decision nor can it take responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz.” Shortly afterwards, the German Chancellor’s spokesman, Friedrich Merz, also reiterated the German position: “This is not a NATO war.” Starmer also explained that the reopening of the Strait cannot be entrusted to “a mission” of the Atlantic Alliance.
Discussions in Europe about Hormuz
Hormuz is also at the center of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels today in which the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, participates. Upon her arrival, the EU high representative, Kaja Kallas, revealed that she had been in contact over the weekend with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, to “understand if it is possible to have an initiative in Hormuz like the one on the Black Sea for Ukrainian wheat”. Kallas warned that, in addition to the paralysis of oil supplies, the other impact of the closure of the Strait is “the shortage of fertilizers.” And if the crisis is not overcome, “next year there will also be a food shortage.”
The enhancement of the Aspides mission
In this context of growing uncertainty, the EU is considering strengthening the European naval mission Aspides, whose command is now entrusted to Italy. The operation was born in 2024 to counter Houthi attacks against ships in the Red Sea. The function of the Aspides units is therefore to escort merchant ships and monitor the maritime corridor that connects the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal. It is one of the main strategic hubs of world trade. One of the options on Brussels’ table is to review its mandate to ensure that it can also operate in the Strait of Hormuz. In this regard, Kallas said: «Today we will try to understand if it is possible to change the mandate of the Aspides mission, the point is to understand if the member states want to use this operation for security in the area of the Strait of Hormuz».
The Houthi threat in the Suez Canal
In addition to Hormuz, there is the risk that a new front will open in the Suez Canal, with commercial traffic being put into further crisis. In fact, the shadow of a possible involvement of the Houthis alongside the Iranian regime hovers. The Shiite militiamen who control half of Yemen have already said they are ready to join the conflict. In recent days, at Truththe spokesperson and senior official of the Houthis’ political office, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, announced that they are ready to “stand militarily alongside their Iranian brothers”. And he continued: “Our choice is necessary to respond to the ongoing aggression by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.” Their strength will be demonstrated by “destroying all the enemy’s ships.”
Europe is divided
European countries already seem divided on the Aspides mission. The Foreign Minister of Spain, José Manuel Albares, has in fact declared that “the current mandate is correct” and therefore “it is not necessary” to change it. Even more suspicious is Germany, which is also quite critical of the work carried out so far by the European naval operation. Although according to EU data, the mission protected 470 ships, the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, said that Aspides “was not effective” even “in the Red Sea”. And he therefore said he was “very skeptical” about the actual capacity of the mission if the range of action were extended. Italy, on the one hand, is in favor of “strengthening the mission that operates in the Red Sea” to “guarantee maritime traffic”, Tajani announced. But on the other hand, the deputy prime minister considers it “complex” to change the mandate of the operation. Therefore on Hormuz “the line of diplomacy must prevail”. The Netherlands, however, does not exclude its participation in the defense of navigation in the maritime corridor. France has not officially made its position clear, but it seems to be in favor of strengthening the mission.
