Middle East crisis Iran war

After Trump's NATO threat: Not relevant for Sweden

Sweden will not help the US secure traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) to TT.

– It is not relevant to do anything at this point.

In a statement on Monday night, Donald Trump said that NATO's future looks "very bad" if member states do not help the US secure free passage through the strait.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also rejected the demands through his spokesperson. He believes that the war in Iran "has nothing to do with NATO". 

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Merz: Germany will not enter the war

Germany will not participate in the US and Israel's war against Iran, announces the country's Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a press conference. Reuters reports.

– It has been clear from the beginning that this war is not NATO's business alone, he says.

He points out that the US and Israel did not consult Germany before the war started. He also says that it is unlikely that the US and Israel will succeed in bringing about regime change in Iran by bombing the country.

Merz also criticizes what Israel calls “limited ground operations” in Lebanon. A ground invasion would be a “mistake” that would worsen the humanitarian situation in the area, he says.
 

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Analysis: China has nothing to gain from helping Trump

Donald Trump wants China to help open the important Strait of Hormuz, but China has nothing to gain from meeting the American president. This is what Stephanie Yang writes on CNN.

Trump’s attempt to pressure China to side with the US in the war against Iran is remarkable. The president is asking China to risk its own military resources in a war that the US has started against a country that is close to Beijing, she writes.

China's own oil reserves, import sources and investments in renewable energy mean that Trump's threat to cancel a summit with President Xi Jinping will be weak.

"China is better positioned than the rest of Asia to cope with a prolonged energy crisis," she writes.

China has long avoided getting involved in conflicts abroad, and there is much evidence that this will continue, writes Bloomberg in an analytical text.

The news agency's Jennifer Welch says that there are other domestic policy issues that are more important to President Xi - including the purges within the Chinese military.

- I don't think they are that desperate about the summit, she says.