European Allies Spurn Trump's Plan for the Strait of Hormuz: Report
European nations are strongly in favor of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open; they are just not so keen on playing a role in that process.
A new report says Europe is not interested in an American proposal to develop a joint Strait of Hormuz patrol until there is no reason for patrolling because the war is over, according to Politico.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has gained some ground with British Defense Minister Wes Streeting, but beyond that the concept has little to no support, Politico reported, saying it relied on “four British officials and one U.S. official” who were not named.
🇺🇸🇪🇺🇮🇷 European countries refuse to support a US-led naval patrol in the Strait of Hormuz until the truce with Iran is confirmed to continue, per Politico
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) July 28, 2026
The American concept is that allies would meet in London to determine who could do what, including hunting for mines or guarding ships that pass through the strait.
The report said the concept grew from a call Friday between Hegseth and Streeting in which they spoke of how allies could play a role without supporting attacks on Iran.
Hegseth and Streeting spoke Monday with French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin to discuss how to “work together to reassure shipping across the region,” a British source said.
Streeting will still talk with fellow defense leaders, the report said.
“The defense secretary has been having constructive discussions with allies on diplomatic and military efforts to strengthen maritime security, and these will continue in the coming days,” one of two U.K. officials said.
Streeting said Sunday that Britain has “not joined and will not join offensive U.S. military action in Iran. That’s an area where we have not agreed with the United States. But when it comes to securing maritime freedom and free commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, that’s where we are absolutely aligned.”
Iran, however, says choking off free access to the strait was part of its victory in the war and plans to keep control of the vital waterway, according to the Times of Israel.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ali Nikzad told the Iranian Students News Agency that the strait is Iranian property.
“We consider the strait as an achievement of the recent imposed war and a divine gift to the great Iranian nation,” he said, adding that Iran will not alter its position.
Trump on the recent Iranian attack on Jordan:
It was a surprise attack. U.S. forces had just minutes to shoot down Iranian missiles.
Source: Fox News pic.twitter.com/wsDdsyAGMe
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 29, 2026
Although the United States has paused attacks on Iran after 12 nights of bombing, that pause is coming to an end, according to President Donald Trump.
Trump said in a Wednesday interview the U.S. would “beat the f***ing s***” out of Iran after it lobbed missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan, according to the Times of Israel.
“We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating,” Trump said, calling Iran’s action against Jordan a “surprise attack” in which troops had just minutes to shoot down incoming missiles.
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