BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 The European Union said on Monday it will consider how to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open as energy and commodity prices rise in the third week of war between Iran, Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that\u2019s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,\u201d said Kaja Kallas, the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, ahead of a meeting of the 27-nation bloc\u2019s foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. <\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump has asked allies \u2014 including France, China, Japan, South Korea and Britain \u2014 to help secure the strait for global shipping<\/a>. <\/p>\n Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission<\/a> to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf, or it could form a \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.<\/p>\n 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%<\/a>. But the conflict has also disrupted the wider global supply chain<\/a> beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n France has said it is working with countries \u2014 President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia \u2014 on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when \u201cthe circumstances permit,\u201d when fighting has subsided.<\/p>\n German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it will be important for the U.S. and Israel to define \u201cwhen they consider the military aims of their deployment to have been reached.\u201d<\/p>\n He said before meeting his EU colleagues in Brussels that \u201cwe need more clarity here\u201d from the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cthis danger definitely must not continue.\u201d He said he would back sanctions against those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, without elaborating.<\/p>\n Once there\u2019s clarity on the U.S.-Israeli aims, Wadephul said it will be time to enter a phase in which \u201ca security architecture for this whole region\u201d is defined. He said that will also entail speaking to Iran.<\/p>\n Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said the EU remains uncommitted to any military action. <\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019s an important decision,\u201d Bettel said.<\/p>\n Operation Aspides was formed to thwart attacks to shipping in the Red Sea by Somali pirates<\/a> and Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have yet to join the current fray.<\/a> Saudi Aramco manages a pipeline network that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz to deliver oil to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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,\u201d Kallas she said. \u201cThere 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\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n