Turkey’s trade minister said in an interview with Euronews on Friday that NATO is not legally required to join any US-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, pushing back against pressure from President Donald Trump for alliance members to help restore traffic through the waterway after the US-Israel military campaign against Iran.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat told Euronews that NATO is a deterrent alliance meant to protect peace and security and that member states were within their rights to remind Washington that the bloc is defensive in nature. His remarks came as Trump pressed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte for concrete commitments from allies within days on Hormuz security.
The dispute has exposed strain inside NATO because the fighting with Iran did not begin as an attack on a NATO member, and many allies say they were not consulted before the US strikes. European governments have signaled that any role in securing the strait would require a lasting ceasefire and, in some cases, domestic legal approval.
Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s collective defense clause applies when an ally suffers an armed attack in Europe or North America, or in certain other defined areas. NATO says each member must assist in a way it deems necessary after such an attack, but the treaty does not create an obligation for allies to join military operations launched by one member outside that framework.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s main oil shipping routes. Traffic through the passage remains limited despite a tentative ceasefire, with Iran allowing only a small number of vessels through each day after weeks of disruption that sent oil prices higher and left hundreds of ships waiting.