{"id":5439,"date":"2026-04-17T20:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/5439\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T20:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:51:15","slug":"trump-blasts-nato-over-hormuz-but-germany-excels-at-clearing-naval-mines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/5439\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Blasts NATO Over Hormuz\u2014But Germany Excels at Clearing Naval Mines"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump criticized NATO<\/a> on Friday as he announced that Iran had declared the Strait of Hormuz \u201cfully open and ready for full passage,\u201d according to posts on Truth Social. In a follow\u2011up message, Trump said NATO leaders contacted Washington after the crisis appeared to ease, adding: \u201cI TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signaled that Berlin could contribute to clearing sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz once fighting ends, as part of a Europe\u2011led mission discussed during talks in France. Any German deployment, he said, would require parliamentary approval and a solid legal basis\u2014ideally a mandate from the U.N. Security Council. Merz added that he would want the United States involved in such an effort.<\/p>\n

While Trump\u2019s remarks dismissed NATO\u2019s role, Germany<\/a>\u2019s offer drew attention to an area where Berlin has deep expertise. Decades of operating in the Baltic Sea\u2014shallow, narrow and heavily mined during both world wars\u2014have made mine clearance a strategic necessity for Germany, which also serves as a logistics hub for NATO\u2019s eastern flank. As many countries have scaled back their mine\u2011countermeasures forces, Germany has maintained frequent demining operations and a robust fleet relative to peers, experience that could translate directly to a complex waterway such as the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Newsweek contacted the White House on Friday for comment.<\/p>\n

\"\"Why It Matters<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world\u2019s most important energy chokepoints, carrying a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Even brief disruptions can push up fuel prices<\/a>, disrupt supply chains, and affect global economic stability far beyond the Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to Know<\/p>\n

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Friday that the reopening of the strait followed the announcement of a new ceasefire<\/a> in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire,\u201d he wrote on X, noting that ships would use a coordinated route previously announced by Iranian maritime authorities.<\/p>\n

The Lebanon ceasefire was announced Thursday after U.S.-brokered talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials, marking their first direct diplomatic engagement in decades. The agreement established a 10\u2011day cessation of hostilities starting at 5 p.m. ET, intended to pause weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran\u2011backed Hezbollah group operating inside Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The truce followed days of confusion over whether Lebanon had been covered by an earlier U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced early this month. While Pakistani and Iranian officials initially said that agreement applied \u201con all fronts,\u201d U.S. and Israeli leaders later clarified it did not extend to clashes with Hezbollah, and Israeli strikes continued. Lebanese officials publicly sought clarification as the mixed signals fueled uncertainty on the ground, prompting Washington to pursue a separate, time\u2011limited ceasefire specifically addressing the Israel\u2011Lebanon front.<\/p>\n

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad\u2011Bagher\u202fGhalibaf said Friday that the ceasefire would be treated cautiously, writing on X that it \u201cwas nothing but a result of Hezbollah\u2019s steadfastness,\u201d adding that \u201cthe Resistance and Iran are one and the same entity, whether in war or in a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demining the Hormuz Strait<\/p>\n

Despite declarations that the strait is reopening, uncertainty remains over how many naval mines may still be present and where they are located. U.S. naval officials have warned that the mine threat in parts of the strait is \u201cnot fully understood,\u201d advising commercial mariners to consider avoiding certain shipping lanes. Some mines may have been laid without complete records and could have drifted with currents, complicating detection and removal even after hostilities have eased.<\/p>\n

Trump wrote on Friday morning that \u201cIran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!\u201d and later added that Iran had agreed never to close the Strait of Hormuz again. Some critics on the American right mocked the announcement<\/a>, arguing the strait was open before Trump started the war.<\/p>\n

Markets responded quickly. Oil futures fell sharply after Trump\u2019s comments, with Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropping roughly 10-13 percent in a single session, according to Reuters. Analysts said traders were unwinding a risk premium built up during weeks of conflict, interpreting U.S. and Iranian statements as signs of de-escalation and a reduced likelihood of a prolonged blockade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, naval specialists say restoring full shipping confidence typically requires independent, systematic mine\u2011hunting operations that certify routes as safe\u2014beyond political statements alone. That verification process is slow and highly technical, and it is during this phase that Germany\u2019s capabilities could prove critical. Berlin has said it is prepared to deploy specialized minehunters, diving teams, escort vessels and maritime surveillance aircraft as part of a post\u2011conflict international mission. Such assets are designed for detailed seabed scanning and clearance operations and could provide the third\u2011party assurances that insurers and shipping companies often require before declaring a strategic chokepoint fully open.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/p>\n

Trump told\u00a0Axios\u00a0on Friday that he expects U.S. and Iranian teams to meet \u201cthis weekend\u201d and believes a final agreement could come<\/a> \u201cin the next day or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

European and U.S. officials are expected to continue discussions on a post\u2011ceasefire security framework for the Strait of Hormuz, including whether mine\u2011clearing operations would proceed under a U.N. mandate or a smaller multinational coalition. Any German participation would still require approval from parliament in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Shipping companies and energy markets are watching closely for concrete timelines, as confirmed mine clearance would mark the transition from military<\/a> standoff to economic normalization\u2014determining how quickly global energy flows and trade can fully resume.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump criticized NATO on Friday as he announced that Iran had declared the Strait of Hormuz…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4436,1829,5,1333,381,619,478,5273,1666,5446,1337,5542],"class_list":{"0":"post-5439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-blockade","9":"tag-ceasefire","10":"tag-germany","11":"tag-iran-war","12":"tag-middle-east","13":"tag-military","14":"tag-nato","15":"tag-navy","16":"tag-oil-and-gas","17":"tag-persian-gulf","18":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","19":"tag-trump-administration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}