EU weighs action to keep Strait of Hormuz open
ABC News
The European Union is weighing options to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open for global shipping
BRUSSELS -- The European Union said on Monday it will consider how to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open as energy and commodity prices rise in the third week of war between Iran, Israel and the United States.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, ahead of a meeting of the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has asked allies — including France, China, Japan, South Korea and Britain — to help secure the strait for global shipping.
Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf, or it could form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.
The war in Iran, sparked on Feb. 28 airstrikes by Israel and the U.S., has driven up energy prices worldwide, with brent crude up more than 40%. But the conflict has also disrupted the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East.
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