Germany rejects US request for help in the Gulf

Tensions in the Gulf have reignited a German debate over the country’s readiness to take on a larger role in global affairs with critics charging that Berlin should step up its involvement by taking part in a possible naval mission to the region.

Berlin has come under pressure from the UK and the US to increase its engagement in the Gulf after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz this month.

But on Tuesday Germany rebuffed a formal Washington request for support, saying it would not contribute to a US-led naval mission in the region.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry said: “The US recently presented its concept for a maritime surveillance mission in the Persian Gulf to Germany and other allies, and asked for contributions. The government has taken note but did not offer any contributions.”

Germany would instead place its emphasis on “de-escalation and diplomatic efforts”, the ministry said.

This is a classical case of ducking your responsibility. You see that something has to be done but you say: Not me

A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Berlin said: “We have formally asked Germany to join France and the UK to help secure the Straits of Hormuz and combat Iranian aggression. Members of the German government have been clear that freedom of navigation should be protected . . . Our question is, protected by whom?”

Following Iran’s seizure of the British-flagged Stena Impero, which it continues to hold, London last week called for a Europe-led naval mission to protect commercial shipping in the Gulf. But it also failed to elicit any firm commitment from Germany. 

According to critics of the government, Berlin’s reluctance to dispatch military assets to the Gulf is the latest sign of the country’s failure to live up to its foreign policy rhetoric.

“There is a German interest in protecting these shipping lanes,” said Constanze Stelzenmüller, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “So we have to be in a position, especially as an export nation, to help protect them with our navy, together with our allies.”

Christian Mölling, deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said: “Germany’s political and social system rests on exports. It is therefore an elementary task of German foreign policy to uphold the system that allows free trade.” 

He added: “This is a classical case of ducking your responsibility. You see that something has to be done but you say: Not me.” 

Germany’s powerful BDI industry federation also came out in favour of German participation. Speaking earlier this week, BDI president Dieter Kempf said it was “a question of solidarity among us Europeans that a trading nation like Germany takes part in such a mission”.

Analysts argued that the prospects for any German military role in the Gulf had receded further in recent days amid signs that the US would likely play the leading role in any naval surveillance operation. Last week’s UK appeal was for a Europe-led mission, which might have been more palatable for the German government and public. 

Germany has long been critical of Trump administration policy on Iran, which has been defined by its withdrawal last year from a nuclear deal designed to restrain Tehran’s atomic ambitions and a “maximum pressure” effort to force it to change its ways.

The so-called “E3” governments of the UK, France and Germany remain committed to the deal and are trying to mitigate the economic impact of US sanctions while persuading Iran to stick to nuclear pledges it has vowed to breach. 

Heiko Maas, Germany’s foreign minister, is a member of the Social Democratic party, the junior partner in chancellor Angela Merkel’s left-right coalition, which has been especially critical of any military participation. The SDP has warned that German navy ships could ultimately be sucked into a confrontation.

Senior members of Ms Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union have been more open to German involvement, but some CDU leaders have urged London to clarify its stance.

“The UK, whose tanker is in Iranian hands, needs to spell out clearly whether it wants a European mission,” said Johann Wadephul, the deputy leader of the CDU group in parliament. “We are getting signals that London, under the new prime minister [Boris] Johnson is moving towards a participation in a US mission.”