NATO not drawing up plans for Hormuz mission, top commander says
BRUSSELS: NATO is not drawing up any plans for a potential mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would need a political decision to do so, its top commander said on Tuesday, amid suggestions by some members that the alliance could play a role there.
Any decision to launch a mission would require the approval of all NATO’s 32 members and several have already signaled opposition, although no formal proposal has been presented so far, according to diplomats.
“The conditions under which NATO would consider operating in the Strait of Hormuz are ultimately a political decision,” said US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe.
“The political direction comes first, and then the formal planning happens after that. Am I thinking about it? Absolutely … But there’s no planning yet until the political decision is taken,” he told reporters in Brussels.
Iran began blockading the critical Gulf waterway after the United States and Israel launched military action against the country in February. The blockade has pushed up the prices of oil, driven up shipping costs and squeezed supplies of raw materials. US President Donald Trump has berated NATO members for not being willing to help open the Strait. European nations have said they do not want to be drawn into the war — which was launched without consulting them — but are ready to help secure the Strait after the war. So far, France and Britain have taken the lead in putting together a coalition of countries that could help ensure safe transit through the Strait once the situation there stabilizes or the conflict is resolved.
