US President Donald Trump’s demand that European allies help secure the passage of oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was a major talking point at a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.
Several member states signaled they do not want NATO involved in guarding the strait, which Iran has closed to most traffic in response to the US‑Israeli bombing campaign. Europeans said they were unwilling to deploy troops to secure the waterway because that would put them on Iran’s list of potential targets, Charles Hecker, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told DW.
At the start of the meeting EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said it was in the bloc’s “interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side.” She added the EU was in touch with “US colleagues on different levels.” By the end of the talks, however, Kallas said there was “no appetite” among member states to expand the EU’s maritime mission to the Strait of Hormuz “for now.”
Spiking energy prices across the continent and the wider energy crisis have further strained transatlantic relations. EU ministers also discussed how the conflict could strengthen Russia, which stands to gain extra revenue from fossil fuel exports to support its war in Ukraine. “The only winner really out of the war on Iran right now is Russia,” Hecker said.
Trump strong‑arms Europe to protect Strait of Hormuz
On Sunday Trump increased pressure on countries that receive energy via the Strait of Hormuz to help secure the waterway, which normally sees about 20% of the world’s crude oil pass through it. Although most buyers of these shipments are in Asia, Trump has again raised the prospect of consequences for NATO.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he told the Financial Times. “If there’s no response, or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
Hecker said Trump’s push looks like an effort to draw Europeans more directly into the US‑Israel campaign against Iran. “We have yet to see what kind of threat the president is making against NATO and how he would carry that out. But he’s doing everything he can to try to exercise leverage against the countries that he’d like to bring into the conflict,” Hecker said.
Trump specifically called on France and the United Kingdom to join the effort, but Hecker said neither is likely to get involved while active fighting continues. Beyond the risk of becoming Iranian targets, European leaders are unclear about US and Israeli objectives in the conflict.
Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul told reporters he did not see a role for NATO in securing the strait and said NATO bodies would have to address it if that changed. France has offered more flexibility: President Emmanuel Macron said France would be willing to help secure the strait “once the hottest phase of the conflict is over.”
Europe hurt by rising energy prices
The EU is already being hit hard by the economic costs of the blockade. “Since the beginning of the conflict, gas prices have risen by 50% and oil prices by 27%,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. She told the European Parliament that in 10 days of the Iran war European taxpayers had paid an extra €3 billion for fossil fuel imports.
“Europe is neither an oil nor a gas producer. For fossil fuels we are completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports, putting us at a structural disadvantage to other regions,” von der Leyen said. The crisis, she added, highlights Europe’s energy vulnerabilities.
To try to reduce prices, European countries including France, Germany, Italy and the UK supported a decision to release millions of barrels of oil alongside other G7 members. The International Energy Agency has called for the release of 400 million barrels from emergency reserves.
While von der Leyen warned against reversing policies on Russian fossil fuels, the EU is acutely aware that the Iran war hands Russia a windfall.
Is Russia the biggest beneficiary of the war in Iran?
As Iran struck hotels, airports and oil refineries in the Gulf and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, Moscow stood ready to capitalise. When oil prices hit €87.20, their highest level since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia presented its energy resources as an option for buyers. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia “was and continues to be a reliable supplier of both oil and gas,” while Kremlin aide Kirill Dmitriev criticized Europe’s decision to move away from Russian energy.
In an attempt to contain price rises, the US temporarily eased some sanctions on buying Russian oil, granting a 30‑day exemption for India. Europeans worry that higher energy revenues will allow Russia to prolong or intensify its war in Ukraine.
Another concern is that defence equipment needed by Ukraine, such as Patriot missile systems that Europe often procures from the US, may be diverted to the Gulf. Kallas noted a “direct impact” of the Iran war on Ukraine as defence capabilities needed in Ukraine are also being moved to the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Gulf used more Patriot missiles in the first days of Iranian strikes than Ukraine has used since Russia’s invasion four years ago.
Ukraine has offered its anti‑drone technology to Gulf countries so they can use indigenous counter‑drone systems and preserve Patriot interceptors for missiles. “Ukraine has years’ worth of experience intercepting Russian Shahed‑type drones — the same Iran is firing at its neighbors. Ukrainian defense industry also developed battle‑tested counter‑drone systems it is offering to Gulf countries,” Rafael Loss, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW.
The aim is to reduce demand for Patriot interceptors in the Gulf so more can be made available to Ukraine.
Edited by: Ruairi Casey