At the same time, Kallas reiterated the importance of the EU’s defending its interests in the region but said there was little appetite for expanding the remit of its Aspides naval mission, currently operating in the Red Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on allies — including European nations such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom — to help escort civilian vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil and gas prices have spiked in recent days after Tehran closed the strategic waterway to shipping, stranding oil and gas tankers serving fossil fuel-exporting nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Kallas’ team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.