Western allies are signalling there is no quick rescue plan for Donald Trump as the crisis triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran tightens its grip on global energy routes. The US president has warned that failure to secure the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most critical oil chokepoint — would be “very bad for the future” of NATO. But the remark has landed badly in European capitals already wary of being drawn into a conflict they did not start. “NATO was created as a defensive alliance,” said Nick Carter, former UK chief of the defence staff. “It was not designed for one ally to start a war of choice and expect everyone else to follow.” In Germany, officials were blunt. Defence minister Boris Pistorius dismissed the idea that Europe’s limited naval forces could solve the problem. “This is not our war,” he said. “We have not started it.” No fast military fix in the Gulf Despite the political pushback, the economic stakes are escalating fast. Iran’s disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has already slashed tanker traffic and sent governments scrambling to stabilise global energy supplies. Keir Starmer said the UK was in talks with US, European and Gulf partners to develop a “viable plan” — but warned decisions were still some distance away. One option is maritime escorts for tankers, echoing convoy operations of past conflicts. But the Gulf battlefield is far more complex: Iran can deploy naval mines, fast attack boats, drones and shore-based missiles simultaneously. Western navies are also facing a capability gap. Minesweeping — once routine — has long been neglected. Carter noted that clearing Iraqi mines during the 1991 Gulf War took 51 days. “No navy has invested at the scale required,” he warned. Europe hesitates as Trump looks for partners European governments are reluctant to commit forces without clarity on US war aims. The EU’s naval mission, Operation Aspides, currently fields just a handful of warships and was designed for Red Sea security, not a full-scale confrontation with Iran. Emmanuel Macron has floated the idea of a multinational escort coalition — but only once the “hottest phase” of fighting subsides. For now, Western capitals remain stuck between two pressures: a global economy vulnerable to disruption in Hormuz, and a war plan from Washington that, by its own allies’ admission, still doesn’t exist. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r17plnvy3o
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