In response, U.S. President Donald Trump branded NATO a “paper tiger” and warned of reprisals. Earlier this month, he announced a cut of 5,000 troops from Germany over comments criticizing the war by the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
A loose coalition of around 40 countries led by France and the U.K. has instead become the central forum for efforts to reopen the strait, but only on condition that hostilities end.
However, some NATO countries would prefer the alliance take on a more formal role that either takes over from the coalition or launches its own mission, said two NATO diplomats, granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive topic. They said that could also help showcase the value of the alliance to Trump, who has repeatedly raised doubts over U.S. commitment to NATO.
“That will definitely be discussed during this meeting,” Stenergard said in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg.
While NATO should “always be careful to create new precedents” in considering a possible role in the Middle East, she added, “it’s very important that we make sure that we protect the freedom of navigation because it is fundamental for free trade.”
Other allies are similarly warming to the idea of a NATO role. “I think it’s always important that we do things in a coordinated way,” Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen told reporters in Helsingborg on Friday. “We need the expertise of NATO there as well.”