Merz says Germany ready to help secure Hormuz transit after end of hostilities

Germany is in principle ready to participate in securing transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz once there is an end to hostilities and a mandate, preferably from the United Nations, and German parliamentary approval, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

“We are still a long way from all of that,” Merz said, when asked about what role Germany could play. He was speaking a day before talks in Paris on the Strait of Hormuz which, he said, would cover the issue of the participation of US armed forces.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

He declined to specifically address a question on a newspaper report saying that Germany was prepared to offer demining and maritime surveillance expertise.

Germany’s defense ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment on the report.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has caused unprecedented disruption of global oil and gas. It has led to the halting of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Merz, speaking at a press conference with his Irish counterpart, stressed that at least a provisional ceasefire would be required before any mission in the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran’s military nuclear program must end.

Read more:

World could soon face ‘energy availability’ problem amid Iran war, Qatari minister warns

Netanyahu says Israel continues to strike Hezbollah amid Lebanon peace talks

US-sanctioned supertankers enter Gulf via Hormuz despite blockade