At a press conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin, Pistorius said he sees no scenario in the coming days or weeks in which the Bundeswehr could quickly sail into the Strait of Hormuz to clear mines. The minister noted that the Iranian regime has given a ‘clear rejection’ to plans under which European states could take on this task.
The federal government had previously tried to quickly secure a parliamentary mandate for a deployment. However, significant concerns under international law were raised by both coalition factions. An international mission involving the Bundeswehr is ‘not in sight at all’ given the situation, Pistorius said.
Bundeswehr’s mine-hunting boat Fulda and tender Mosel, currently undergoing maintenance in the port of Djibouti, will ‘not be left there until autumn.’ The soldiers should rather spend the summer at 40 degrees Celsius in Berlin than at 50 degrees in Djibouti, the minister said.
Source: www.spiegel.de
