EU Foreign Ministers Vote Against Expanding Naval Operations in Strait of Hormuz

EU foreign ministers voted against expanding Operation Aspides' mandate or sending additional EU naval forces into the Strait of Hormuz, despite US calls for a multinational naval coalition to reopen the waterway. The vote reflects deep European ambivalence about the conflict: EU states strongly condemned Iranian retaliatory attacks on Gulf neighbors but remain unwilling to join US-Israeli military operations. Several EU members, including Spain, France, and Germany, expressed concern that escalating NATO/EU naval presence could widen the conflict. The bloc extended Aspides' existing Red Sea mandate without expanding it. This leaves the US effectively alone in any potential naval enforcement action in Hormuz. Trump privately condemned the decision as 'very disappointing.'