BRUSSELS, April 10. /TASS/. NATO member countries are not obliged to assist the US and Israel in opening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring the safe passage of ships through this waterway, Turkey’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said in an interview with Euronews.
"So far there has been no indication that," he said in response to a related question. According to the Turkish trade minister, NATO countries apparently chose to remain silent amid the extremely important conflict over Iran, primarily because "no one consulted the NATO members whether to attack Iran or not."
According to Bolat, NATO countries had hoped that the US and Israeli operation against the Islamic Republic would be "short-lived, but it didn’t." They didn’t think of "very negative effects" on their economies, on the world economy. They through that this was an operation only to be carried out for the interests of Israel, not for NATO’s interests, nor for the world’s good, the minister emphasized.
As Reuters previously reported, citing sources, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte informed several EU leaders that US President Donald Trump wants them to commit to participating in a mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Rutte later stated that the North Atlantic Alliance could provide support in ensuring free navigation through the waterway. According to him, a coalition of 34 countries is already discussing the possibility of taking appropriate measures. However, the NATO Secretary General believes that such assistance should be approached step by step, since in NATO, this requires agreements between all allies.
On April 7, US President Donald Trump announced a two-week mutual ceasefire with Iran. According to him, the parties have resolved nearly all contentious issues, and Washington views Tehran’s 10-point proposal as a working basis for further negotiations. These include adherence to the principle of non-aggression, Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, uranium enrichment within the country, the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions, the payment of compensation, and the withdrawal of US forces from the region. Trump stated that the decision was made based on Iran’s willingness to open the Strait of Hormuz. In turn, Tehran agreed to cease "defensive attacks" provided that no strikes are launched against Iran. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is mediating between the parties, invited them to negotiate on April 10. According to the Iranian state broadcaster, the talks are expected to be direct.