NATO Considers Hormuz Ship Escort Plan from Early July
A senior NATO official said on 19 May that some NATO countries support a plan to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz beginning in early July if Iran’s blockade continues. One NATO diplomat said several NATO countries support the idea, but that there is “not the required unanimous support to enact it”. The diplomat added some NATO countries remain reluctant to get involved in the conflict, but NATO is generally concerned about the economic consequences of keeping the strait closed. The escort plan would mark the first direct NATO operational involvement in the Iran war.
The NATO escort plan is the second multi-state framework now under active consideration: the US Central Command blockade of Iranian ports is in its second month with 88 vessels redirected and four disabled, and Iran’s newly-established Persian Gulf Strait Authority claims 1,500 vessels are currently waiting for Iranian transit permission. The two Chinese supertankers (Yuan Gui Yang, Ocean Lily) that exited the strait this morning are the first commercial movement of any scale since the PGSA framework began on Sunday. The economic incentive driving NATO consideration is shared across European exposure: gas, oil, food and freight costs have all moved meaningfully against European consumers since the war began.