Luojiashan tanker sits anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 7, 2026. REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier<\/p>\n
NATO Allies Refuse to Join U.S. Hormuz Blockade, Deepening Rift With Trump<\/p>\n
By Michel Rose and John Irish<\/p>\n
PARIS\/LONDON, April 13 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0NATO allies said on Monday they would not get involved in\u00a0U.S.\u00a0President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to\u00a0blockade the<\/p>\n
,\u00a0proposing instead to intervene only once fighting ends, in a move likely to anger Trump and\u00a0increase strains\u00a0in the alliance.<\/p>\n
Trump said the U.S. military would work with other countries to<\/p>\n
block all maritime traffic<\/p>\n
in the waterway, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week\u00a0conflict with Iran. The U.S. military later specified that\u00a0the blockade,\u00a0due\u00a0to\u00a0have started\u00a0at 1400 GMT on Monday, would only apply to ships going to or from Iranian\u00a0ports.<\/p>\n
Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has largely blocked off the strait for all ships apart from its own. It has been seeking to make its control of the strait permanent and possibly collect levies from ships that use it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade,\u201d Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.<\/p>\n
All Eyes on Hormuz as U.S. Maritime Blockade on Iran Enters Enforcement Phase<\/p>\n
But NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, saying instead\u00a0they were working on an initiative\u00a0to open the waterway,\u00a0where a fifth of global oil supplies normally\u00a0passes.<\/p>\n
Their refusal to participate is yet another point of friction with Trump, who has threatened to withdraw from the military alliance and is\u00a0weighing pulling some U.S. troops from Europe\u00a0after several countries\u00a0denied U.S. military planes use of their airspace\u00a0for attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n
CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not supporting the blockade,\u201d British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure, and there\u2019s been some considerable pressure, we\u2019re not getting dragged into the war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte\u00a0told European governments\u00a0that Trump wants concrete commitments in the near future to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats told Reuters last week.<\/p>\n
NATO could play a role in the strait if its 32 members could agree on the formation of a mission, Rutte said on April 9.<\/p>\n
Repeating Venezuela-Blockade Move Is Far Riskier Bet in Hormuz<\/p>\n
Several European countries have said they\u2019re willing to help in the strait but only once there is a durable ?end to hostilities and an agreement with Iran that their ships will not be attacked.<\/p>\n
France will organize a conference with Britain and other countries to create a multinational mission to restore navigation in the strait, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis strictly defensive mission, distinct from the belligerents, will be deployed as soon as the situation allows,\u201d Macron said.<\/p>\n
The initiative aims to establish rules for safe passage and the coordination of military vessels to escort tankers, Starmer said in parliament on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be very clear, this is about safeguarding\u00a0shipping\u00a0and supporting freedom of navigation once the conflict ends. Our shared aim here is a coordinated, independent, multi-national plan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A meeting to draw up plans for the mission involving about 30 countries, including Gulf countries, India, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, could happen as soon as Thursday in Paris or London, a French diplomatic source said.<\/p>\n
The military ships would provide reassurance without being belligerent, the source said, adding that Iran and the U.S. would be informed of the mission but play no direct part.<\/p>\n
Another European diplomatic source questioned whether Trump would welcome a mission now that he had ordered the blockade.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Trump is now using the strait as his own leverage, does he even want a mission there?\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz should be reopened by diplomacy, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday, adding that creating an international force to oversee it would be complicated.\u00a0He called for NATO to reset its ties with Trump at a summit in Ankara in July.<\/p>\n