WASHINGTON – Key European partners pushed back against a request from US President Donald Trump for warships to help force open the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shut the waterway, a corridor that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments. Global crude prices surged nearly 50 percent to above $100 a barrel as governments braced for higher fuel costs.
The White House appeal followed strikes that, according to US and Israeli officials, killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. With Iran declaring the strait closed, Trump urged partners to contribute naval assets and warned that silence from allies would carry consequences for the alliance system at the heart of the West’s security order.
Trump said on Truth Social that he hoped “China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK” would send ships to the area, among others. In comments published March 16, 2026, he told the Financial Times that “if there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” His remarks effectively turned a confrontation over a Gulf shipping lane into an early test of allied cohesion in his new term.
Europe splits: Berlin declines, London weighs options, Brussels cites limits
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejected the American push, telling reporters in Berlin: “It is not our war. We did not start it. What does Donald Trump expect a handful or two of European frigates to accomplish in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful American Navy cannot achieve there alone?” His comments underscored a broader reluctance in Berlin to be drawn into operations that fall outside existing mandates and could be seen domestically as offensive rather than defensive.
In London on March 16, 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom was “looking through the options” in response to Washington’s request. He said Britain was considering deploying ships and mine‑hunting drones to the Middle East but made no commitment regarding the Strait of Hormuz specifically. “While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war,” Starmer said. He added that the government was “not at the point of decisions yet,” and that London was discussing the matter “with the US, with Gulf partners and with [the] Europeans,” calling it “a difficult question” that would ultimately require parliamentary and allied consultation.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “it is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open” while noting the strait “is out of NATO’s area of action.” NATO’s collective defense obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty apply to treaty territory in Europe and North America and to specified North Atlantic areas; the Gulf waterway is outside that mandate, limiting the scope for a formal NATO mission even as individual member states weigh national deployments.
“It is not our war. We did not start it. What does Donald Trump expect a handful or two of European frigates to accomplish in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful American Navy cannot achieve there alone?”
The Strait of Hormuz itself is a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which tankers must transit to move crude out of the Persian Gulf; shipping lanes mostly run through Omani territorial waters, while Iran controls the northern approaches under international maritime law and long‑standing practice. That geography, and the volume of oil at stake, has made the strait a recurring flashpoint whenever tensions rise between Tehran and Western capitals.
Energy markets react to a critical chokepoint shutting down
Oil traders rushed to price in prolonged disruption at a passage responsible for roughly one‑fifth of seaborne crude. Benchmarks jumped nearly 50 percent to above $100 a barrel as risk premiums spiked and refiners scrambled to secure alternative supplies.
Knock‑on effects are rippling through retail markets; according to experts, South Africans can prepare to cough up R4 more for a litre of petrol. Similar pressures are expected in import‑dependent economies from Europe to East Asia, where governments are already under strain from inflation and may be forced to consider further fuel‑tax relief, temporary subsidies or emergency drawdowns from strategic reserves.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is the main outlet for crude exports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Any sustained halt in tanker transits typically forces rerouting via limited alternative pipelines, draws on strategic reserves, or refinery run‑cuts-measures that tend to raise costs down the supply chain for households, industry and transport. Energy ministries and central banks are now assessing whether the spike proves a short‑term shock or a sustained drag on global growth.
Alliance politics and rules of engagement
The divergence between Washington’s call for a coalition and Europe’s cautious response reflects not only domestic political constraints, but also the legal and operational frameworks that govern how democracies deploy force abroad. With NATO’s treaty area clearly defined, any European presence in or near the strait would most likely rely on national mandates or ad hoc coalitions, rather than an integrated NATO command structure.
European capitals are also weighing rules of engagement in waters where Iran has previously harassed or seized commercial vessels, and where any miscalculation could escalate into a broader regional conflict. Officials say that distinction-between protecting commercial shipping under international law and appearing to join a U.S.‑led campaign against Iran-is now central to debates in cabinets and parliaments.
What officials have said and when
- February 28, 2026: Joint US‑Israeli attacks killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the parties’ accounts.
- Early March 2026: Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was closed and warned foreign navies not to approach.
- March 16, 2026: Trump told the Financial Times that “if there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
- March 16, 2026: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was “looking through the options” and was “not at the point of decisions yet.”
- Date not specified: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, “It is not our war. We did not start it,” dismissing the utility of a small European flotilla.
- Date not specified: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said keeping the strait open is in Europe’s interest but that it “is out of NATO’s area of action.”
As of March 18, 2026, Berlin had formally declined to send ships, London had not announced a deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, and EU officials maintained the waterway lies outside NATO’s remit. With oil prices elevated and alliance politics exposed, policymakers from Washington to Brussels now face a narrowing window to decide whether to build a looser “coalition of the willing” under existing maritime law, or risk leaving one of the world’s most sensitive shipping lanes effectively closed.
For readers seeking a concise overview of the waterway’s geography and strategic role, a detailed explainer by academic analysts on the strait’s dimensions, traffic patterns and vulnerability to closure is available via The Conversation.