NATO MINISTERS CONCLUDE SUMMIT WITH STRAIT OF HORMUZ IN FOCUS

Sat 23 May 2026:

NATO foreign ministers concluded a two-day ministerial meeting in Sweden on Friday, finalising the military bloc’s core security objectives in advance of July’s Ankara Summit.

While discussions primarily focused on scaling defence industrial capacity and establishing paths towards a 5 percent GDP spending target for NATO members, the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz was also high on the agenda.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said: “Iran continues to attempt to hold the global economy hostage by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“It is important that countries are coming together around plans to ensure that the Strait can be open for transit, including by moving essential assets to the region,” he said.

The US-Israel war on Iran also exposed political rifts between Washington and several European allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said NATO allies agree that Iran must not develop nuclear weapons, but very few had stepped up when the Trump administration demanded action.

Rubio criticised Spain for refusing to grant US forces access to domestic military bases for operations related to the Iran conflict.

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Tehran brought commercial traffic to a standstill in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran that began on Feb. 28. But NATO has largely stayed out of talks on restoring normal traffic through the trade chokepoint — responsible for about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments — amid disagreements over the war, with some European countries like France, Spain, Italy and the U.K. restricting U.S. access to their airspace or bases.

The US has repeatedly criticised European allies over a perceived lack of support for its military operation, prompting US President Donald Trump to question the purpose of NATO altogether.

In response, U.S. President Donald Trump branded NATO a “paper tiger” and warned of reprisals. Earlier this month, he announced a cut of 5,000 troops from Germany over comments criticizing the war by the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

A loose coalition of around 40 countries led by France and the U.K. has instead become the central forum for efforts to reopen the strait, but only on condition that hostilities end.

However, some NATO countries would prefer the alliance take on a more formal role that either takes over from the coalition or launches its own mission, said two NATO diplomats, granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive topic. They said that could also help showcase the value of the alliance to Trump, who has repeatedly raised doubts over U.S. commitment to NATO.

“That will definitely be discussed during this meeting,” Stenergard said in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg.

While NATO should “always be careful to create new precedents” in considering a possible role in the Middle East, she added, “it’s very important that we make sure that we protect the freedom of navigation because it is fundamental for free trade.”

Other allies are similarly warming to the idea of a NATO role. “I think it’s always important that we do things in a coordinated way,” Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen told reporters in Helsingborg on Friday. “We need the expertise of NATO there as well.”

But Rutte on Friday said the European-led initiative shows “Europeans have heard the message.”

Some countries have already moved assets to the region ahead of future deployment, including the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the UK’s combat vessel HMS Dragon.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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