Deployment in the Persian Gulf: European fleet is supposed to save NATO

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, but also in London, Paris and Berlin, they are looking for a way out of the conflict. A European fleet should help keep the Strait of Hormuz open and safe. The recent ceasefire brings this operation closer. In order to reconcile Trump with NATO, it could even take place under the alliance’s flag, as the German Handelsblatt learned from diplomats in Brussels. It is not yet clear whether the Europeans are politically ready and militarily able to do this. But the pressure from Washington is increasing. To mend the breach in the alliance, it seems European deployment in the Strait of Hormuz is currently the only solution.

New threats

Since taking office, Trump has not done well with NATO and the Europeans in the alliance. He criticized their lack of defense preparedness, low defense spending, and openly threatened that the USA would leave the alliance and that US troops would be withdrawn from Europe.

NATO bases in Europe are indispensable for the USA

At least the US President has recently refrained from making these threats because they are beyond his political scope. Only the US Congress could decide to leave NATO, Troop withdrawals from Europe would cause military-strategic difficulties for the USA, as it needs the bases for operations around the world. Also for the attack on Iran. Trump became all the angrier when Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused to allow him to use the NATO bases in his country and Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the Iran operation as a violation of international law. If the USA is no longer allowed to use the bases in Europe, then NATO has lost all use for them, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained a few days ago. According to the US daily Wall Street Journal, the White House is specifically thinking about withdrawing from Germany and Spain.

German Navy has specialists for mine clearance

But the German Navy in particular could offer important support in the Strait of Hormuz. They have ships for mine clearance, which the otherwise all-powerful US Navy lacks. In the NATO operational plans, Germany, together with the Netherlands and Belgium – they have similar ships – are intended for exactly this task.

Nothing works in NATO without unanimity

It is questionable whether this operation can actually take place under the NATO flag. The defense alliance is a politically unwieldy entity. Operations, including those outside the alliance territory, must be decided unanimously. Spain has already signaled its rejection. An alternative would be a “coalition of the willing,” similar to support for Ukraine. It is unclear whether at least the planning of the operation could take place at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Discussions are ongoing, the willingness, for example in Germany, is increasing, but for the time being skepticism predominates. German ships off the Iranian coast? According to diplomats, “hard to imagine.”