Foreign minister sees role for Belgian minehunters in Strait of Hormuz
Belgium is open to helping secure the Strait of Hormuz as part of an international coalition, Foreign minister Maxime Prévot said on French-language radio on Monday. He suggested Belgian minehunters could be deployed once the situation has stabilised.
According to Prévot, of Les Engagés, prime minister Bart De Wever was recently approached by French president Emmanuel Macron on the issue. Belgium would join a coalition of 32 countries, of which half are EU member states, and make a “proportionate share” of the overall effort.
Participation in such a mission does not imply support for the American-Israeli intervention in Iran, which, Prévot said, began “outside international law”. However, the situation is affecting European economies and must therefore be “managed”, he added.
He also cautioned that the US-Israeli operation had not yet succeeded in toppling the Iranian regime. “One should not declare victory too soon,” he said, responding to remarks by US president Donald Trump, who told American journalists last night that a regime change had been achieved.
A Belgian M917 Crocus minehunter © PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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