EU Weighs Action on Strait of Hormuz   03/16 06:54

   The European Union is seeking more strategic clarity about the U.S. and 
Israel's plans for Iran and when the conflict might end as the bloc weighs 
whether to send ships to help shore up security in the Persian Gulf.

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union is seeking more strategic clarity about 
the U.S. and Israel's plans for Iran and when the conflict might end as the 
bloc weighs whether to send ships to help shore up security in the Persian Gulf.

   "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," Kaja 
Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said Monday ahead of a meeting of the 
27-nation bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels.

   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 Operation 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.

   Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the 
southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are 
grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely that there will be 
shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.

   'We need more clarity here'

   France has said it is working with countries -- President Emmanuel Macron 
mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia -- on a possible international 
mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when 
"the circumstances permit," when fighting has subsided.

   French senior officials, speaking anonymously on ongoing talks, said The 
Netherlands, Italy, and Greece had shown interest and that Spain might be 
involved in some way.

   Outside the EU, the U.K. may also be part of it if they have some 
capabilities available, the officials said. They mentioned the Red Sea-focused 
Operation Aspides as a possible model for a naval mission to the Persian Gulf.

   German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it will be important for the 
U.S. and Israel to define "when they consider the military aims of their 
deployment to have been reached."

   He said before meeting his EU colleagues in Brussels that "we need more 
clarity here" from the U.S. and Israel.

   At the same time, Wadephul said the Iranian government poses a significant 
danger to the region, the freedom of shipping and the global economy, and "this 
danger definitely must not continue." He said he would back sanctions against 
those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, without elaborating.

   Once there's clarity on the U.S.-Israeli aims, Wadephul said it will be time 
to enter a phase in which "a security architecture for this whole region" is 
defined. He said that will also entail speaking to Iran.

   Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said the EU remains uncommitted to 
any military action.

   "The fact is, for the moment, the EU is not directly part of the situation. 
So we need to decide if we are going to be part or not. That's an important 
decision," Bettel said.

   EU's refugee concerns

   Operation Aspides was formed to thwart attacks to shipping in the Red Sea by 
Somali pirates and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have yet to join the 
current fray. Saudi Aramco manages a pipeline network that bypasses the Strait 
of Hormuz to deliver oil to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

   "If we want to have security in this region, then it would be easiest to 
actually already use the operation that we have in the region and maybe change 
a bit," Kallas she said. "There is also talk of coalition of the willing in 
this regard, but we also need to see what could be the fastest to provide this 
opening for the Strait of Hormuz, but of course, as you can see, it's not easy."

   The EU is anxious that a potential refugee crisis in Iran will develop if 
the war continues.

   "Although for now, the conflict has not translated into immediate migratory 
flows toward the EU, what the future holds remains unclear and necessitates the 
full mobilization of every migration diplomacy tool we have at our disposal," 
said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement Sunday.

   Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that his country has been a 
staunch supporter of the U.S., but that it needs to "know as well what are the 
plans...in the region."

   He said U.S. allies in Europe want to understand Trump's "strategic goals. 
What will be the plan?"