Two German Naval Vessels Heading to Strait of Hormuz to Prepare for Reopening

With the United States and Iran having signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end hostilities, the German Defense Minister announced that two German naval vessels are moving toward the Strait of Hormuz to prepare for a mission to reopen the strait.

Speaking ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers' meeting that opened in Brussels on June 18 (local time), German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the German minesweeper 'Fulda' and the supply ship 'Mosel' are currently moving toward the Red Sea with their deployment to the Strait of Hormuz in mind.

These vessels were initially stationed in the eastern Mediterranean in anticipation of a potential end-of-war agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had previously promised that Germany would participate in a mission to secure the safety of the Strait of Hormuz once the war with Iran concluded.

"We want to be prepared to act quickly, and above all, we want to arrive at the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible," Minister Pistorius explained.

While parliamentary approval is required to deploy German troops for the new mission of securing the Strait of Hormuz, Minister Pistorius explained that separate parliamentary approval is not needed to simply move the vessels to the region.

This movement of vessels falls under the scope of the European Union's 'Operation Aspides,' in which Germany is currently participating.

'Operation Aspides' is an EU maritime security operation aimed at protecting Red Sea shipping lanes from attacks by the Houthi rebels, a pro-Iranian group in Yemen.

(Photo: Getty Images Korea)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.