BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Thursday that Germany will not engage in securing the Strait of Hormuz until the conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran has concluded. This decision comes despite mounting pressure from the Trump administration for immediate action.
“We are prepared to help after a peace agreement is reached,” Merz stated, emphasizing the need for specific conditions to be met before any German involvement. He outlined that Germany would require “an international mandate, preferably from the U.N. Security Council” along with “a resolution from the German Bundestag,” in accordance with the nation’s regulations on foreign military engagements.
Conditions for German involvement
Merz indicated that decisions regarding Germany’s participation in securing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would not be forthcoming in the immediate future. “That’s why you shouldn’t expect any decisions from us within the next few days,” he remarked, reinforcing the cautious approach Berlin is taking.
European leaders have expressed their willingness to assist with securing the vital waterway once hostilities cease, but the specifics of such assistance remain ambiguous. U.S. President Donald Trump has increasingly voiced his frustration regarding the reluctance of European NATO allies to offer support, even suggesting a potential U.S. withdrawal from the alliance.
“We do not want — I do not want — NATO to split. NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and especially in Europe. We must continue to keep a cool head here,”
Merz asserted to reporters in Berlin that he had communicated with Trump by phone regarding Germany’s stance, reiterating that involvement in securing the Strait would only occur post-conflict and under the specified conditions.
On Tuesday evening, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, contingent upon the restoration of safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy passage. Merz referred to the ceasefire as a “ray of hope,” yet he cautioned that the situation remains precarious. “The past 24 hours alone have shown just how fragile the ceasefire in the region is, how uncertain the situation remains in the Strait of Hormuz, and how far apart the positions of the parties involved still are. The negotiations that now lie ahead will be very challenging,” he noted.
Ongoing diplomatic efforts
Merz mentioned his plans to discuss the situation with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later that evening, reaffirming Germany’s commitment to pursuing diplomatic avenues to resolve the conflict. “We do not want this war — which has become a transatlantic stress test — to further strain relations between the United States and its European NATO partners,” he concluded.