No EU appetite for Trump demand on Hormuz help, as Israel pounds Lebanon

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US and Nato leaders meeting at a summit in The Hague on 25 June 2025 (Source: Nato)

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No EU appetite for Trump demand on Hormuz help, as Israel pounds Lebanon

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By Andrew Rettman,
Brussels
,

Erratic US leadership means no EU navies will be rushing to the Strait of Hormuz, as Spain also accused Israel of “sham[ing] humanity” in Lebanon.

So long as US president Donald Trump did not make clear his Iran war plan, then Germany would not heed his call to help escort oil tankers through the strait, indicated German foreign minister Johann Wadephul in Brussels on Monday (16 March).

“First of all, we want to hear from Israel and the United States of America when they want to achieve their military goals in Iran … to include us into what they are doing there,” Wadephul told press at a meeting with his 26 EU peers.

Trump had specifically called for French help on Hormuz in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper at the weekend, while saying it would be “very bad for the future” of Nato in general if allies refused.

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US and Nato leaders meeting at a summit in The Hague on 25 June 2025 (Source: Nato)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver’s foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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