Germany ‘reluctant’ on US plan for naval mission off Iran

BERLIN: Germany is “reluctant” to join a proposed US-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz but would consider taking part in a European mission, the government said on Wednesday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government was responding to a US demand made public a day earlier “to help secure” the world’s busiest oil shipping lane and “combat Iranian aggression”. At a time of heightened tensions, Berlin fears that this could potentially draw it and other powers into a military confrontation between the United States and the Islamic Republic.

Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Germany continued to support diplomatic efforts to ease tensions that have risen sharply since US President Donald Trump last year withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.

“The USA recently presented their concept for a Persian Gulf maritime surveillance mission to several allies including Germany and asked for contributions,” said Demmer. “The German government is reluctant about the concrete US proposal and has therefore not offered a contribution, as the overall approach of our policy toward Iran differs significantly from the current US approach.”

Berlin was seeking an emphasis on “diplomacy and de-escalation” and to save the nuclear deal, Demmer said, stressing that “participation in a US-led mission could complicate this issue, even as of course we share the goal of freedom of navigation”.

Britain last week ordered its navy to escort UK-flagged ships in the strait in response to Iranian soldiers seizing a tanker in the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf. Germany remained “in close coordination with France and Britain” on questions of maritime security, Demmer said, adding that Berlin believed the idea of a European naval mission was “worth considering”.

Meanwhile, the commander of a British warship accompanying UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran said on Wednesday that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy’s resolve.

William King, commander of HMS Montrose, said during 27 days patrolling the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf he had had 85 “interactions with Iranian forces”, which had often led to “an exchange of warnings” over radio.

“That gives you some idea of the intensity... (it) is perhaps more than we’ve seen of recent times,” he told BBC Radio in a phone interview from aboard the frigate. “The Iranians seem to be keen to test our resolve, test our reactions most of the time,” King added.

“They’ll claim that perhaps our presence is illegitimate, even though we’re completely lawfully in international waters. “They may also run boats in at speed towards us, to test what warning levels we get to.”

Montrose, on a three-year deployment in the region since April based at a British naval hub opened in Bahrain last year, began the escorts through the world’s busiest oil shipping lane earlier this month.

It followed Iranian threats of retribution for Royal Marines helping Gibraltar -- a British Overseas Territory -- seize one of its tankers on July 4 on suspicion it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.

Despite Montrose’s presence in the Gulf, Iran intercepted the British-flagged tanker “Stena Impero” on July 19 as it made its way through the strait and has detained the ship at an Iranian port.

Britain on Monday ruled out swapping the tankers, and has proposed the formation of a European-led naval escort mission for global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes as US President Donald Trump exerts a “maximum pressure” campaign of economic sanctions and stepped-up military presence aimed at forcing Tehran to renegotiate a landmark 2015 nuclear pact he pulled out of last year. However, amid the escalating tensions King said contact with Iran remained “professional” and “cordial” on the choppy waters of the Gulf.