As President Trump publicly laments Europe’s refusal to join the Iran war, European defense officials are privately in advanced and detailed discussions to help secure the waters off Iran’s coast once the war ends, according to two senior European officials briefed on the talks.
Threat of Iranian attacks has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas are shipped. European leaders have said that they are willing to help protect that shipping once the war ends, but according to the officials, the plans are more advanced than has been publicly revealed. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
The plans under discussion include:
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Sending frigates to escort oil tankers and other merchant ships through the strait;
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Shooting down Iranian drones and missiles, if necessary, with air-defense batteries aboard those escorts;
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Mounting a show of force, a visible demonstration of military power, to assure skittish shipping companies and their insurers that they will be protected when sailing through the gulf and the strait.
France said on Thursday that 35 countries were involved in discussions over a coordinated mission. Britain’s defense ministry said this week it was working with allies and the commercial shipping industry on “a viable plan to safeguard international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Britain and France are leading the effort, according to Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary general. “Actively now, countries are working together,” Mr. Rutte said at the military alliance’s headquarters on Thursday. He said many details had not yet been decided, “given the fact that the war is ongoing.”
Mr. Rutte said the effort, which includes non-NATO countries like Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, was committed to “making sure that the sea lanes stay open.”
“And this is exactly also to the request of President Trump,” Mr. Rutte said.
So far, Mr. Trump has not sounded appeased. “NATO NATIONS HAVE DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP WITH THE LUNATIC NATION, NOW MILITARILY DECIMATED, OF IRAN,” he wrote on social media on Thursday.
Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris.
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