Sweden Open to NATO Role in Strait of Hormuz Reopening

HELSINGBORG, Sweden — Stockholm is leaving the door open to a possible role for NATO in reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told POLITICO.

“It's definitely in Swedish and European interests to make sure that we keep the strait open and that Iran cannot use this as a weapon again,” she said in an interview ahead of Friday's meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “So I'm quite open to discussing different formats.”

Tehran brought commercial traffic to a standstill in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran that began on Feb. 28. But NATO has largely stayed out of talks on restoring normal traffic through the trade chokepoint — responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil shipments — amid disagreements over the war, with some European countries like France, Spain, Italy and the U.K. restricting U.S. access to their airspace or bases.

In response, U.S. President Donald Trump branded NATO a “paper tiger” and warned of reprisals. Earlier this month, he announced a cut of 5,000 troops from Germany over comments criticizing the war by the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

A loose coalition of around 40 countries led by France and the U.K. has instead become the central forum for efforts to reopen the strait, but only on condition that hostilities end.

However, some NATO countries would prefer the alliance take on a more formal role that either takes over from the coalition or launches its own mission, said two NATO diplomats, granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive topic. They said that could also help showcase the value of the alliance to Trump, who has repeatedly raised doubts over U.S. commitment to NATO.

“That will definitely be discussed during this meeting,” Stenergard said in the southern Swedish city of Helsingborg.

While NATO should “always be careful to create new precedents” in considering a possible role in the Middle East, she added, “it's very important that we make sure that we protect the freedom of navigation because it is fundamental for free trade.”

Other allies are similarly warming to the idea of a NATO role. “I think it's always important that we do things in a coordinated way,” Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen told reporters in Helsingborg on Friday. “We need the expertise of NATO there as well.”