Middle East crisis NATO's future

Germany says no to NATO operation in the Strait of Hormuz

The United States wants concrete information in the coming days about NATO helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz, according to information to Reuters. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has forwarded the demand to several of the alliance's member states.

But Germany will not participate in any operation until peace is in place, reports Politico.

- We are prepared to help after a peace agreement has been reached. President Trump knows that there are two conditions for Germany to be able to do this: an international mandate, preferably from the UN Security Council, and a decision in the German Bundestag, says Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

He adds that the ceasefire that was concluded this week is a hopeful sign, but that the past 24 hours have shown how fragile it is and how uncertain the situation in the Strait of Hormuz still is.

Donald Trump has recently sharply criticized NATO for not being “helpful” in the war. Yesterday, he also held a meeting with Rutte, where a possible withdrawal from NATO was discussed. 

Mark Rutte: “NATO is not whistling in the graveyard”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says at a press conference that Europe is taking greater and fairer responsibility for its defense, and that the alliance has done everything Donald Trump has asked to strengthen it.

– This alliance is not “whistling in the graveyard”, as they say in the United States, he says.

The expression in English roughly means pretending to be calm and unfazed in the face of threats or dangers.

He adds that some allies were slow to deliver logistical and other support that the United States needed in Iran, but that they have now “heard” and are responding to Trump's demands, without going into details.

Rutte is in the United States, where he met Donald Trump yesterday after the president criticized the alliance.