NATO considers mission to reopen Strait of Hormuz

 Nato is considering a mission to unblock the Strait of Hormuz by July.

A small group of allies is discussing sending warships even without a peace deal between the US and Iran.

The plan stands in contrast to a proposed Anglo-French mission, which promised to secure the strait only after a permanent ceasefire.

The waterway, which carries around a fifth of global energy shipments, is being blockaded by both the United States and Iran as they grapple over a deal to end the conflict in the Gulf.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump warned that he may have to resume attacks on the Islamic Republic if its leadership refuses to give up its nuclear programme.

The US president said he had been one hour away from authorising fresh strikes, breaking a month-long ceasefire, before three Gulf leaders requested more time to hammer out a deal.

World leaders are becoming increasingly concerned that the strait’s closure is causing a cost-of-living crisis.

The European Union said on Tuesday that it would release emergency funds to help farmers deal with the soaring costs of fertiliser trapped in the Gulf.

The proposal for a Nato mission to unblock the waterway was first reported by the Bloomberg news agency

It was said to have the support of a small number of Nato allies but will need unanimous approval to proceed.

Levels of support could grow the longer the strait remains blocked, one diplomat said.

Gen Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said he was considering how the alliance could contribute.

“Am I thinking about it? Absolutely. But there’s no planning yet until the political decision is taken,” he said.

With discussions at an early stage, it is unclear how Nato would proceed to unblock the waterway.

Many of its allies are reluctant to move before a ceasefire because it would drag them into a wider war.

The Anglo-French coalition has already pre-positioned a number of warships and other assets to the region in preparation.

In effect, Nato commanders could take over the operation, given that many of its backers are part of the alliance.

But accommodations would have to be made for Spain, which has banned the US from using its military bases and airspace to attack Iran.

Other countries have also been critical of Mr Trump’s war, but have quietly permitted use of their facilities to provide logistical support.

Europe’s initial refusal to help unblock the strait became a point of tension between Nato and Mr Trump, after he demanded they assist in the region.

Mr Trump’s criticism of the alliance has led to fears that he will refuse to appear at its annual summit scheduled to take place in Ankara, Turkey, in early July.

Any fresh offer for Nato to intervene in the Middle East could be seen as an olive branch to the US president in the hope that he attends to sign off on the mission.

It is unclear whether it will be enough to win him over.

In recent weeks, he has withdrawn 5,000 troops from Germany, and cancelled deployments of long-range Tomahawk missiles to the country. He has also halted plans to send 4,000 soldiers to Poland as he seeks to exact a price for Europe’s perceived lack of support.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have been attempting to keep negotiations between Washington and Tehran alive after a number of setbacks.

State media in Iran reported on Tuesday that the country’s negotiators were refusing to give up on the right to enrich uranium in defiance of Mr Trump’s core demands to curtail its nuclear programme.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, was also reported as saying Tehran was demanding the easing of sanctions, the release of frozen funds and the end of the US’s blockade of the strait.

Mr Trump has said Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal to avoid another series of strikes.

The US president suggested he would order the attacks in the coming days if an agreement was not reached.

“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon,” he said.

On Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s latest proposal to the US involved ending hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, the removal of US forces from areas close to Iran, and the payment of reparations for war damage caused since Feb 28.

The proposal appears little changed from the one rejected by Mr Trump last week.

Drone attacks

As tensions mounted in the Gulf, the UAE said it was investigating six drones that had targeted “civilian and vital areas” of the kingdom in the past 48 hours.

Three of the attacks took place on Sunday, including one on the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, according to the UAE’s ministry of defence.

The ministry said that the attacks originated from Iraqi territory. Iraq hosts a number of Shia militia groups loyal to Tehran.

It came as The New York Times reported that US intelligence believed Iran’s ballistic missile capability had survived the five-week US-Israeli air bombardment far better than thought.

The officials said that many of the missiles were deployed from deep underground caves or granite mountains.

While US jets had succeeded in bombing and sealing the entrances to these caves, the officials said, Iran had used the weeks of ceasefire since early April to unblock them.