From Bloomberg, May 19:
NATO is discussing the possibility of helping ships pass through the blocked Strait of Hormuz if the waterway isn’t reopened by early July, according to a senior official in the military alliance.
The idea has support from several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but doesn’t yet have the necessary unanimous support, said a diplomat from a NATO country. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. Leaders from NATO countries will meet in Ankara July 7-8.
“The political direction comes first, and then the formal planning happens after that,” said Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, when asked about the possibility at a Tuesday press conference. “Am I thinking about it? Absolutely.”
Such a move would represent a shift in the military alliance’s strategy toward the US-Israeli war in Iran. Thus far, allies have insisted they would only be involved in the strait once fighting has stopped and they can form a broad coalition that includes many non-NATO countries.
But economic woes are deepening, with the strait’s closure sending energy prices soaring and growth forecasts tumbling....
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