La mission Aspides, currently deployed in the Red Sea, includes three ships: one Greek, one French, and one Italian.
On Monday, March 16, EU foreign ministers will discuss the potential use of the Aspides mission to protect maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas. However, a decision is not expected in the short term.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open
(almost completely blocked to maritime traffic), and that’s why we are discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” she said before a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign ministers. She mentioned several possibilities, including
using the Aspides mission currently deployed in the Red Sea.
However, modifying the mission’s current mandate, originally designed to protect merchant ships from Houthi rebel attacks, allies of Iran, in the Red Sea, would be necessary.
“We will discuss with the member states to see if it is possible to actually modify the mandate of this mission,” explained Kaja Kallas. However, she added, “the question is whether the member states are willing to effectively use this mission.”
Some ministers have expressed caution about potentially utilizing this mission, which consists of three military ships patrolling the Red Sea: one Greek, one French, and one Italian.
Spaniards, Dutch, and Germans hesitating
“We believe that the current mandate of Aspides is correct and does not require any modifications,” highlighted Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manual Albares.
His German counterpart Johann Wadepuhl also avoided commitment, stating that it was essential to first determine when the United States and Israel would consider “having achieved their objectives” before considering a “security architecture” for the entire region, involving Iran as well. “And I believe that once we reach that point, other questions may receive an answer. But currently, they are not arising,” affirmed the German minister upon arrival in Brussels.
The new Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen also requested more time before making any decisions.
“The situation is extremely sensitive, very delicate
. So we need to first gather information, see what each party wants, what their desires are, and what is potentially feasible,” he stated on Monday.
President Donald Trump intensified pressure over the weekend on US allies and China to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traffic flows, crucial for Asian and European economies.
On March 9, France mentioned
an international mission that is “purely defensive” to reopen the strait
, without specifying if it would be conducted under the Aspides mission.
“If we want to ensure security in this region, the simplest solution would be to use what we already have on the ground and perhaps adjust it a bit,” Kaja Kallas pointed out. “There is also talk of a volunteer coalition in this regard, but we also need to see what would help open the Strait of Hormuz the fastest,” she added.
The 27 could agree on common “criteria” acceptable to the United States, which would then be presented to the Iranians, according to diplomatic sources.
