FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – After the end of the Iran war, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz can use the Bundeswehr to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz. “We can do that. And if we are asked about it and it happens within the framework of a real collective security mandate – i.e. United Nations, NATO, European Union – with a Bundestag resolution, that is an option,” he said in an interview at the “FAZ Congress 2026”. “We could do that militarily and of course that would be an option.” The Bundeswehr has several minehunting boats.
Merz also pointed out that the Strait of Hormuz is “obviously not being mined at all” at the moment. He also doesn’t know whether Iran is planning that. “So we’re discussing quite theoretically here.”
Merz also did not want to make a prediction as to when the war might end. The following thought has been going through his head for days: In wars that last a few days, the biggest problem is the last two years. “So I hope every day that it will end at some point, but right now the Americans and the Israelis are getting more deeply entangled in this conflict every day.”/mfi/DP/jha
