Germany rejects Trump calls for ships to Strait of Hormuz

Germany has announced it will not contribute ships to a naval coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting a call from President Donald Trump to help resolve the effective Iranian blockade of the waterway.

"This is not our war, we have not started it," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Reuters. "What does... Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to ​do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful U.S. navy cannot do?"

Thus far, no country has agreed to assist the U.S. in response to Trump. The French government initially indicated it would deploy warships to the region, but has held off on the deployment. The UK meanwhile, has also been reluctant to commit to any ship deployments.

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blockaded due to the Iranian targeting of oil tankers in the region amid the ongoing war. Several vessels have attempted to navigate the waterway, only to end up in smoke.

The U.S. Navy has not yet committed to naval escorts of any oil tankers and major shipping firms, such as Cosco and Maersk, have suspended cargo bookings in the region.

Trump on Monday warned that a failure by European allies to assist in the naval operation would risk fracturing NATO.

"If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO," Trump told the Financial Times. "It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.