Europe stands firm against Trump and refuses to send a mission to the Strait of Hormuz

Brussels/Madrid/BarcelonaMost European allies are standing firm against Donald Trump and refusing to send a military mission to the Strait of Hormuz to keep it open. Following threats from the US president, who predicted a "very bad" future for NATO if European countries do not contribute, the majority of leaders of Europe's partners have spoken out against participation and are avoiding become more involved in the Iran war"This is not Europe's war," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, at the press conference following Monday's European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting. At the entrance to the ministerial meeting, Kallas herself had proposed creating a European Union mission or the United Nations to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. One of the options the EU leader had proposed is modifying and expanding an existing mission, known as Operation Aspides, which aims to protect vessels in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks. The former Estonian prime minister even claimed to have already spoken with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Once the meeting concluded, however, the EU's foreign policy chief backtracked after noting the rejection it generated among EU member states. "The [EU] foreign ministers reaffirmed today that our priority is détente," Kallas emphasized.

Spain was one of the first member states to express opposition, and the vast majority of allies, such as Germany, Italy, Greece, and the United Kingdom, quickly followed suit. The government of Pedro Sánchez, therefore, is consistent with the discourse it has conveyed since the beginning of the war against Tehran. In contrast, the position of the German government represents a shift: until now, Berlin had aligned itself completely with Washington's directives.

Speaking to the media from the El Goloso base (Madrid), the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, forcefully defended Spain's position against the war. "Our demand is that it ends because it makes no sense, it is illegal, and it is causing many deaths," she said. In any case, she reiterated that Spain does... Christopher Columbus sent his best frigateTo reinforce the defense of Cyprus, a member state of the European Union, after an Iranian drone struck a military base located on the Cypriot island.

In the case of Germany, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking from Berlin, rejected Trump's call. "This is not our war, we didn't start it," said the Social Democratic leader, who was particularly critical of the President of the United States. "What does Donald Trump expect? That a handful or two of European frigates can do in the Strait of Hormuz what the powerful US Navy cannot do?" he added. Furthermore, the German Defense Minister downplayed the White House's threat to NATO members and asserted that he does not believe NATO will fall apart because of these differences.

For his part, Italy's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, has expressed support for reinforcing the Aspides mission, as have the vast majority of European partners, but to protect the Red Sea and not the Strait of Hormuz because it is an initiative that "has a defensive character." In contrast, the member of Giorgia Meloni's government has called for "an additional diplomatic effort to guarantee freedom of navigation" in the area.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also expressed opposition, albeit more ambiguously. Although he indicated that he is already working with various allies on a "viable" plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, he made it clear that he will not get involved in the war against Iran. "We will not be drawn into war," he promised. Starmer stated that he "wants the war to end as soon as possible, since the longer it drags on, the more dangerous the situation becomes and the worse it is for the cost of living."

Trump puts pressure on Europe

For his part, Trump has criticized some of his long-standing allies for showing "little enthusiasm" for "helping" the US unblock the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that there are countries that Washington "has helped and protected" for many years and that have now refused to get involved in this operation to allow oil tankers to cross this strategic waterway.

"There are countries where we have 45,000 troops protecting them from terrible external sources, and now they've said they don't want to get involved in something very minor," Trump lamented, asserting that the risks are very low because Iran has very little arsenal to fire. He said some countries don't want to get involved for fear of becoming a target of Iran, but argued that they shouldn't worry because they are now facing a "paper tiger."

The US president also stated that there are countries that have a much greater interest in the US unblocking this maritime passage and argued that his country receives only 1% of the oil that comes from this area, while other countries, such as Japan, China, or South Korea, obtain large quantities. He also criticized Europe: "They should get enthusiastically involved. We've been protecting these countries with NATO. Because NATO is us." And, to reinforce this point, he added: "You can ask Putin. Putin is afraid of us. He's not afraid of Europe at all; he's afraid of the United States of America and the army I built during my first term."