O jornal The Wall Street Journal reported today that France and the United Kingdom are preparing a plan to unblock the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the war with Iran, without involving the United States.
According to the North American newspaper, Germany could join the project, which may require a mandate from the UN or the European Union.
The Wall Street Journal, which is publishing details of the plan today, said the Élysée Palace announced it would discuss a strategy on Friday, in a video conference chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
This mission will be “purely defensive”, seeking to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and involving “non-belligerent” countries, which excludes the United States, Israel and Iranspecified Macron’s cabinet.
According to the WSJ, the mission will consist, firstly, of help the hundreds of ships trapped in the strait to leave, then move on to an operation to remove the mines placed there by Iran at the beginning of the war. Finally, regular military escorts and surveillance will be provided to protect commercial vessels.
Although the list of countries participating in Friday’s meeting is not yet clear, the newspaper states that both China and India were invited — but they have not yet confirmed their presence — and that Germany will probably be part of the plan, according to a German official who requested anonymity.
The operation will have a more impactful profile if it manages to incorporate Germany, which has essential resources and more fiscal space to finance it.
However, Berlin faces many political and legal obstacles to entering military missions abroad, notes the New York newspaper.
To participate in the operation, the German Government would need parliamentary approval, which, in turn, requires a specific international mandate.
This authority could come from the UN Security Council, whose chapter IV authorizes the use of force beyond self-defense, but whose activation is complex.
Alternatively, the European Union could choose to extend the mandate of its EUNavfor ‘Aspides’ mission, which can operate from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf and part of the Indian Ocean, and which aims to protect ships from attacks by sea or air.
A month ago, Spain expressed its opposition to the expansion of this mission due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, but the WSJ states that the operation proposed by Paris and London would be modeled after ‘Aspides’, as well as the ‘coalition of allies’ formed in response to the war in Ukraine.
The UK is concerned, however, that US resident Donald Trump could oppose the operation – by not being included – limiting the scope of the mission, after European leaders refused to help him first unblock the Strait of Hormuz by force and then blockade Iranian ports, the newspaper indicates.
Lusa
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