HIGHDIPLOMATIC
Germany rejects Trump military support call — Defense Minister Pistorius: 'This is not our war, we have not started it'
·Berlin, Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's spokesman Stefan Kornelius explicitly rejected Trump's push for NATO to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, stating the war 'has nothing to do with NATO' and is 'not NATO's war.' Germany cited NATO's territorial defence mandate as inapplicable to the current conflict — the most direct European rejection of the NATO Hormuz coalition to date.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explicitly rejected Trump's demands for military support in the US-Israeli war against Iran in a statement in Berlin on March 16, saying: 'What does Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot do? This is not our war, we have not started it.' Pistorius also dismissed concerns about NATO fracturing, saying he does not anticipate the alliance to fall apart over these differences. (Times of Israel, March 16 live blog).
Earlier, Chancellor Merz's spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the war 'has nothing to do with NATO' and 'is not NATO's war,' citing NATO's territorial defence mandate as inapplicable to the current situation. (AFP via Dawn, 11:06 UTC).
Germany's double-barrelled rejection — from both the Chancellor's spokesman and the Defence Minister personally — is the most comprehensive European rejection of Trump's NATO Hormuz coalition push to date. Germany is NATO's largest European economy and its position sets a precedent for other alliance members.
Actor responses
Germany: The war 'has nothing to do with NATO' and 'is not NATO's war.' NATO's territorial defence mandate does not apply to Hormuz operations.
The US expressed frustration with Germany's explicit NATO Hormuz rejection, having warned allies of a 'very bad' future for NATO if they refused. The transatlantic fracture on Hormuz deepened.