Iran war: Trump dials up the pressure to secure Hormuz

The war in Iran does not concern the Western military alliance NATO, and Germany will not participate in using military means to secure the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping amid the conflict, a German government spokesman said on Monday.

"This war has nothing to do with NATO. This is not NATO's war," Stefan Kornelius said, saying the alliance was there to defend its members' territories and that there was no mandate for its deployment in the present case.

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Despite major disruption to shipping in the crucial waterway from the United States and Israel's war with Iran, a non-Iranian oil tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz with its automatic transponder system activated, according to ship-tracking data.

"The Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the chokepoint while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage," monitor Marine Traffic wrote on X.

The vessel was Pakistani-flagged and was en route to the South Asian country, according to Blomberg news agency.

Global oil prices have surged in response to Iran's attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and its strikes in the Gulf, in retaliation for the war launched against Iran by the United States and Israel.

A Greek government spokesman has said the country will not take part in any military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Copenhagen must "remain open" to consider contributing to securing the strait.

"Denmark is a seafaring nation and has a clear interest in keeping free navigation open," he said.

According to Rasmussen, no decision has been made, but he plans to discuss options with other EU officials.

Britain is working with allies on a collective plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation in the Middle East, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"Ultimately, we have to reopen the ‌Strait of Hormuz to ensure ‌stability ​in the (oil) market. That is not a simple task," Starmer told ​reporters.

"So we're working with all of our allies, ⁠including ​our European partners, ​to bring together a viable ​collective plan that ‌can restore freedom of navigation in ​the ⁠region as quickly as possible and ease ⁠the ​economic impact," he said, adding that it won't be ​a NATO mission.

Starmer also said the UK "will not be drawn into the wider war" in the Middle East.

China has sidestepped a request for comment on US President Donald Trump's call for military support to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked about Trump's remarks at a daily briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian instead repeated China's call for de-escalation, saying the "tense situation" in the strait had "disrupted international trade routes for goods and energy."

Trump has said in an interview with Financial Times that the US wanted an answer from China before his planned trip to Beijing in about two weeks. He suggested he could "delay" the meeting with President Xi Jinping if Beijing does not help reopen the waterway.

The comments come after US and Chinese delegation wrapped up trade talks in Paris on Monday.

According to EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas, the European Union is considering two types of naval missions to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"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," she said ahead of a gathering of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

Kallas said the EU could either expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf or form a "coalition of the willing," in which member nations would contribute military capacity on an ad hoc basis.

Kallas said she discussed with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the idea of replicating the 2022-2023 Black Sea grain deal reached during the war in Ukraine to free up the transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz during wartime.

"I had talks with Antonio Guterres about whether it was possible to also have the ​same kind of initiative like we had (with) the Black Sea Initiative," ​she said.

"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz hurts the global economy and helps Russia fund its war. It is affecting our partners in the region and is dangerous for global energy supplies," Kallas stressed.

Israel's military announced that it had launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as on the city of Shiraz in the south and Tabriz in the northwest.

"The IDF has just begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran, Shiraz, and Tabriz", the military said in a statement.

Iranian media outlets have also reported a new wave of attacks in Tehran. According to the Fars News Agency, explosions were heard in the eastern part of the city.

The state-run SNN television network reported explosions in several locations across the metropolis. It was not immediately clear what was targeted. 

Germany does not see a role for NATO in addressing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in Brussels.

"I don't ​see that NATO has ​made ‌any decision in this direction or could assume responsibility for ‌the Strait of Hormuz. If ‌that ​were the case, then the NATO bodies would address it accordingly," the Reuters news agency quoted him as ​saying ahead of EU foreign ministers meeting.

Wadephul also called for more information from the US and Israel regarding the future course of the war against Iran. "First and foremost, it will be important for the US and Israel to clarify when they consider the military objectives of their operation to have been achieved. We need more clarity on this," he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the war in the Middle East, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has "nothing to do with NATO" and is "not NATO's war."

"NATO is an alliance for the defense of territory" and "the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking" in the current situation, Stefan Kornelius said at a regular press briefing. 

Earlier, US President Donald Trump increased pressure on European allies to help protect the strait, warning that NATO faces a "very bad" future if its members fail to come to Washington's aid.

Cypriot Energy Minister Michael Damianos announced that all EU informal councils will be held as planned in Cyprus between April and June.

"Things are all ⁠back ​to normal. All ​business, including your business resumes and all ​informal councils ‌to be held in Cyprus between April and ​June ⁠will be held in the normal ⁠way", ​Damianos said ahead of EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

In the wake of a drone attack on a British air base amid the ongoing Iran crisis earlier this month, Cyprus — currently holding the EU's rotating presidency — has made the decision to transition all March meetings to online or postponed status.

According to Cypriot authorities, the attack was launched using an Iranian-made Shahed drone, most likely operated by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group based in Lebanon.

According to Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA), a woman was lightly injured as a result of Iran’s ballistic missile attack on central Israel.

MDA wrote on X that in the city of Rishon LeZion, which lies just south of Tel Aviv, its medics and paramedics treated and evacuated a woman in her thirties with minor injuries to the Shamir Medical Center in the nearby suburb of Be'er Ya'akov.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Health wrote on X that, as of Monday morning, 3,369 people had been evacuated to hospitals since the start of the country's operations against Iran, which Israeli authorities dub "Operation Lion's Roar."

Of those, 81 are currently hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, one is in critical condition, seven are in serious condition, 14 are in moderate condition, and 59 are dealing with mild injuries.

According to the Saudi Defense Ministry, Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed more than 60 drones overnight in the oil-rich eastern part of the country. 

The largest oil fields and facilities in the country lie around the eastern city of Abqaiq. They have been targeted multiple times in the war with Iran.

The ministry also announced a new service that allows residents to report suspicious activities in the sky. This feature is part of a mobile application for citizen services in Saudi Arabia.

A fifth member of the Iranian women's soccer team has withdrawn her asylum claim in Australia and rejoined the rest of the squad in Malaysia.

The team flew from Sydney on March 10 after being eliminated from the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. However, they left behind six players and a support staff member who had accepted protection visas.

Four players and the staff member have since rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur; the latest arrived on Monday. No reasons have been given for the change of heart, but the Iranian diaspora in Australia blames pressure from Tehran.

Matt Thistlethwaite, the Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, told the Sky News Australia broadcaster that the government respects the decision of those who chose to return to Iran, and will continue to provide support to the two members who are still in Australia.

He said that those who stayed in Australia have been moved to an undisclosed safe location where they are receiving assistance from the government and the Iranian diaspora community.

The Israeli military announced that it destroyed a plane used by Iran's late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport overnight.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the aircraft was used by senior Iranian officials and military figures for domestic and international travel, as well as for coordinating with proxy groups.

Mehrabad is one of Tehran's oldest airports and currently operates domestic and regional flights. It is not only the busiest civilian domestic airport but also a dual-use facility that houses air force assets. 

Khamenei was killed in an Israeli air strike on February 28.

Oil loading operations at the eastern Fujairah port of United Arab Emirates (UAE) were suspended on Monday after a drone attack sparked a fire in the emirate's petroleum industrial zone, two sources told Reuters news agency.

"A large fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industries Zone as a result of being targeted by a drone, with no injuries reported," Fujairah authorities said.

Civil defense teams were working to contain the blaze and no casualties were reported, the Fujairah government's media office said.

Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, is a key export hub for the UAE's Murban crude. The city is the capital of the emirate of the same name, which is one of the UAE's seven emirates, with the two most populous being Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The disruption follows as operations at Fujairah had resumed ​on Sunday after another drone strike over the weekend.

A Palestinian civilian was killed on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi on Monday when a missile struck their car, authorities said.

The incident in the Al Bahia area comes as Iran presses on with strikes on countries in the Gulf following US-Israeli attacks.

"Authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident in the Al Bahia area involving a missile strike on a civilian vehicle, which resulted in the death of one Palestinian national," the official Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement.