Together with Iran several sensational events took place in 2019.
Several ships were damaged or confiscated and drones were shot down.
At the same time people are easily placed in position and against or in favor of Iran.
However neither the geographic location nor the legal situation should be omitted.
The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline, the Habshan-Fujairah Oil Pipeline and the Trans-Arabian Pipeline are also available. The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline runs across Saudi Arabia and connects the Red Sea with the Persian Gulf. With the East-West Crude Oil Pipeline and the Suez Canal the connection with the Mediterranean could be secured but less so the connection with the Indian Ocean. [2] The Habshan-Fujairah Oil Pipeline runs across the Emirates, ends in the Gulf of Oman and bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. [3] And the Trans-Arabian Pipeline runs through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Golan Heights and Lebanon to the Mediterranean. However the Trans-Arabian Pipeline has been completely inoperable since 1976 and would need to be put back into operation. [4] [4,archive]
Later in July the US government then asked the German government for assistance with a military mission in the Strait of Hormuz. With the military mission the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom claim to secure the Strait of Hormuz and freedom of navigation as well as to combat Iranian aggression. The German government has refused to participate until further notice. [7] [8] [9] [10]
And on July 29, the foreign policy spokesman of The Green-Party and member of the Atlantic Bridge (Atlantik-Brücke) Omid Nouripour spoke out. Nouripour (The Green-Party) stated that he considers that the Bundeswehr should be involved in a mission to protect ships in the Persian Gulf under certain conditions. However Nouripour (The Green-Party) spoke of provocations on the part of Iran without defining it. [16] [17] [18]
On the other side of the transatlantic lobbies the federal chairman of the The Green-Party Robert Habeck emerged. On August 3, Habeck (The Green-Party) stated that he sees Germany being responsible for the protection of merchant ships. According to von Habeck (The Green-Party) diplomacy has always the utmost priority but he can imagine Germany's participation in a European mission. [19] [20]
In addition the two military experts from the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik/DGAP) Carlo Masala and Christian Mölling and the professor of the Munich University of the Bundeswehr Torben Schütz have submitted a corresponding strategy paper. In it it is concluded that several different warships would be needed. And it could also lead to dangerous skirmishes with Iranian units. Consequently it is recommended to involve allies outside the EU such as Norway, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. [21] Striking to all these considerations is that only variations how to intervene were presented. Nobody has questioned the events so far.
One should not just be divided into two camps at this point. The Iranian government has a sufficiently poor record on human rights that it should not be unreservedly on its side. However one should not be put against Iran especially since the recent events that have led to this escalation are still not fully investigated. And one definitely should be against a war with Iran.
A similar request already occured in March when the US government demanded Germany to pay the full cost plus 50% for deploying US troops. [28] But according to a parliamentary request the federal government could not answer how high the current costs for the stationing of the US troops are. [29,p.5] However according to Article 120 of the German Basic Law says that the German Federal Government bears the expenses for the costs of the occupation. [30]
[1] Anthony H. Cordesman - Iran, Oil, and the Strait of Hormuz 2007-03-26
https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/070326_iranoil_hormuz.pdf
[2] The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil transit chokepoint 2012-01-04
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=4430
[3] Habshan-Fujairah pipeline starts pumping crude oil 2012-06-21
https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/habshan-fujairah-pipeline-starts-pumping-crude-oil-1.1038817
[4] Oil 2007-02-06
https://web.archive.org/web/20071105231936/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/East_Med/Oil.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/East_Med/Oil.html
[5] Russia’s security concept for the Gulf area 2019-07-23
http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/international_safety/conflicts/-/asset_publisher/xIEMTQ3OvzcA/content/id/3733575?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_xIEMTQ3OvzcA&_101_INSTANCE_xIEMTQ3OvzcA_languageId=en_GB
[6] Russia and Iran confirm bid to expand military cooperation in memorandum of understanding 2019-07-29
https://tass.com/defense/1070918
[7] Irankonflikt - USA bitten Deutschland offiziell um Beteiligung an Hormus-Mission 2019-07-30
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/iran-usa-bitten-deutschland-um-beteiligung-an-hormus-mission-a-1279659.html
[8] Straße von Hormus - USA bitten deutsche Marine um Mithilfe 2019-07-30
http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/militaereinsatz-iran-hormus-101.html
[9] Iran-Politik - Bundesregierung stellt sich gegen USA 2019-07-30
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran-usa-deutschland-bundeswehr-hormus-1.4546280
[10] Berlin lehnt Beitrag für US-Einsatz im Persischen Golf ab 2019-07-31
https://orf.at/stories/3132170/
[11] Exportanteil/Export Share
https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Aussenhandel/lrahl01.html
[12] Exportüberschuss/Export Surplus https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesamtwirtschaftUmwelt/VGR/Inlandsprodukt/Tabellen/BruttoinlandVierteljahresdaten_xls.html [13] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer https://www.atlantik-bruecke.org/tag/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/
[14] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer : "Am Nato-Ziel halte ich fest" 2019-07-24 https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-07/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer-bundesverteidigungsministerin-vereidigung-regierungserklaerung
[15] Kramp-Karrenbauer: Entscheidung über Golfmission offen 2019-07-31 https://orf.at/stories/3132186/
[16] OMID NOURIPOUR : Grünen-Politiker offen für Bundeswehreinsatz am Persischen Golf 2019-07-29 https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/omid-nouripour-offen-fuer-bundeswehreinsatz-am-persischen-golf-16307473.html
[17] Irankrise - Schickt die Bundeswehr Kriegsschiffe in den Golf? 2019-07-29 https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/iran-krise-schickt-die-bundeswehr-kriegsschiffe-in-den-golf-a-1279517.html
[18] Atlantik Brücke - Gremien https://www.atlantik-bruecke.org/die-atlantik-bruecke/gremien/
[19] Iran-Konflik - Grünen-Chef kann sich europäische Mission im Persischen Golf vorstellen 2019-08-03
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran-konflikt-persischer-golf-gruene-habeck-1.4551541
[20] IM EIGENEN INTERESSE : Habeck offen für „Beteiligung an europäischer Mission im Persischen Golf“ 2019-08-03
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/habeck-fuer-europaeische-mission-im-persischen-golf-16316237.html
[21] Ein Schiff wird kommen? Deutsche maritime Optionen in der Straße von Hormus 2019-08-10
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EFTxt-xxooA92lE4QE5mx2IaqIrWmLkQ/view
[22] US-Botschaft Berlin: Ambassador Grenell: "It is offensive to assume that the U.S. taxpayers will continue to pay for more than 50,000 Americans [U.S. troops] in #Germany, but the Germans get to spend their surplus on #domestic programs." #2percentby2024 2019-08-09
https://twitter.com/usbotschaft/status/1159770012535664641
[23] Streit um Verteidigungsausgaben - USA drohen erneut mit Truppenabzug aus Deutschland 2019-08-09
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/usa-truppen-deutschland-abzug-1.4558294
[24] VOR TRUMPS EUROPA-REISE : Vereinigte Staaten drohen Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/trumps-praesidentschaft/usa-verschaerfen-drohungen-mit-truppenabzug-aus-deutschland-16325042.html
[25] Vor Trumps Europareisen - US-Botschafter Grenell droht Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/richard-grenell-us-botschafter-droht-deutschland-mit-truppenabzug-a-1281136.html#ref=rss
[26] Verteidigungspolitik : USA drohen Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2019-08/usa-verteidigung-nato-truppen-deutschland-abzug-polen
[27] Drohung der USA - US-Truppen in Polen statt in Deutschland? 2019-08-09
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/truppenabzug-usa-deutschland-101.html
[28] Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops 2019-03-08
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/trump-said-to-seek-huge-premium-from-allies-hosting-u-s-troops
[29] Drucksache 17/5279 - Ausländische Streitkräfte in Deutschland 2011-04-14
http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/055/1705586.pdf
[30] Grundgesetz - Art. 120
https://dejure.org/gesetze/GG/120.html
The Location
The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It is absolutely necessary for the connection of Iraq, Kuwait and the Emirates and partly necessary for Iran and Saudi Arabia to connect them with international waters. This dependency is shown by the fact that about 40% of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. On the other side between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa lies the strait of Bab al-Mandab. Here Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea meet. It connects less oil exporting countries with international waters and due to the war in Yemen it poses a higher risk. [1,p.2]The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline, the Habshan-Fujairah Oil Pipeline and the Trans-Arabian Pipeline are also available. The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline runs across Saudi Arabia and connects the Red Sea with the Persian Gulf. With the East-West Crude Oil Pipeline and the Suez Canal the connection with the Mediterranean could be secured but less so the connection with the Indian Ocean. [2] The Habshan-Fujairah Oil Pipeline runs across the Emirates, ends in the Gulf of Oman and bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. [3] And the Trans-Arabian Pipeline runs through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Golan Heights and Lebanon to the Mediterranean. However the Trans-Arabian Pipeline has been completely inoperable since 1976 and would need to be put back into operation. [4] [4,archive]
The official Position
After the events involving several tankers in May and July 2019 the Russian and Iranian governments decided in July to expand their military cooperation. For this both want to work together to fight terrorism. Both want to hold joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. And both could also start joint marine exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. [5] [6]Later in July the US government then asked the German government for assistance with a military mission in the Strait of Hormuz. With the military mission the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom claim to secure the Strait of Hormuz and freedom of navigation as well as to combat Iranian aggression. The German government has refused to participate until further notice. [7] [8] [9] [10]
The Backers
On the one hand Germany is above average dependent on exports with an export share of 39%. [11] [12] In additionpolitics in Germany is significantly influenced by transatlantic lobbies. On July 24, the Federal Chairwomen of the CDU and member of the Atlantic Bridge (Atlantik-Brücke) Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer pleaded in her inaugural speech as Minister of Defense for a steadily growing defense budget. In addition Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) asserted on July 31, after the refusal by the German Federal Government that no final decision has yet been made. [13] [14] [15] [16]And on July 29, the foreign policy spokesman of The Green-Party and member of the Atlantic Bridge (Atlantik-Brücke) Omid Nouripour spoke out. Nouripour (The Green-Party) stated that he considers that the Bundeswehr should be involved in a mission to protect ships in the Persian Gulf under certain conditions. However Nouripour (The Green-Party) spoke of provocations on the part of Iran without defining it. [16] [17] [18]
On the other side of the transatlantic lobbies the federal chairman of the The Green-Party Robert Habeck emerged. On August 3, Habeck (The Green-Party) stated that he sees Germany being responsible for the protection of merchant ships. According to von Habeck (The Green-Party) diplomacy has always the utmost priority but he can imagine Germany's participation in a European mission. [19] [20]
In addition the two military experts from the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik/DGAP) Carlo Masala and Christian Mölling and the professor of the Munich University of the Bundeswehr Torben Schütz have submitted a corresponding strategy paper. In it it is concluded that several different warships would be needed. And it could also lead to dangerous skirmishes with Iranian units. Consequently it is recommended to involve allies outside the EU such as Norway, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. [21] Striking to all these considerations is that only variations how to intervene were presented. Nobody has questioned the events so far.
One should not just be divided into two camps at this point. The Iranian government has a sufficiently poor record on human rights that it should not be unreservedly on its side. However one should not be put against Iran especially since the recent events that have led to this escalation are still not fully investigated. And one definitely should be against a war with Iran.
Threat of Troop Withdrawal
In this context one should also see the threat of withdrawal of US troops from Germany. On August 9, US Ambassador to Berlin Richard Grenell threatened to partially withdrawal US troops and relocated to Poland, if Germany would not meet the 2% defense budget target. Currently the German defense budget is 1.36% of GDP while the US government demands 2% from all NATO member states. There are currently 35,000 soldiers in Germany and 17,000 American and 12,000 German civilians employed by the US troops. And there is a dilemma here as a transfer of US troops to Poland would put them closer to Russia. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]A similar request already occured in March when the US government demanded Germany to pay the full cost plus 50% for deploying US troops. [28] But according to a parliamentary request the federal government could not answer how high the current costs for the stationing of the US troops are. [29,p.5] However according to Article 120 of the German Basic Law says that the German Federal Government bears the expenses for the costs of the occupation. [30]
[1] Anthony H. Cordesman - Iran, Oil, and the Strait of Hormuz 2007-03-26
https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/070326_iranoil_hormuz.pdf
[2] The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil transit chokepoint 2012-01-04
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=4430
[3] Habshan-Fujairah pipeline starts pumping crude oil 2012-06-21
https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/habshan-fujairah-pipeline-starts-pumping-crude-oil-1.1038817
[4] Oil 2007-02-06
https://web.archive.org/web/20071105231936/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/East_Med/Oil.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/East_Med/Oil.html
[5] Russia’s security concept for the Gulf area 2019-07-23
http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/international_safety/conflicts/-/asset_publisher/xIEMTQ3OvzcA/content/id/3733575?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_xIEMTQ3OvzcA&_101_INSTANCE_xIEMTQ3OvzcA_languageId=en_GB
[6] Russia and Iran confirm bid to expand military cooperation in memorandum of understanding 2019-07-29
https://tass.com/defense/1070918
[7] Irankonflikt - USA bitten Deutschland offiziell um Beteiligung an Hormus-Mission 2019-07-30
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/iran-usa-bitten-deutschland-um-beteiligung-an-hormus-mission-a-1279659.html
[8] Straße von Hormus - USA bitten deutsche Marine um Mithilfe 2019-07-30
http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/militaereinsatz-iran-hormus-101.html
[9] Iran-Politik - Bundesregierung stellt sich gegen USA 2019-07-30
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran-usa-deutschland-bundeswehr-hormus-1.4546280
[10] Berlin lehnt Beitrag für US-Einsatz im Persischen Golf ab 2019-07-31
https://orf.at/stories/3132170/
[11] Exportanteil/Export Share
https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Aussenhandel/lrahl01.html
[12] Exportüberschuss/Export Surplus https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesamtwirtschaftUmwelt/VGR/Inlandsprodukt/Tabellen/BruttoinlandVierteljahresdaten_xls.html [13] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer https://www.atlantik-bruecke.org/tag/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer/
[14] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer : "Am Nato-Ziel halte ich fest" 2019-07-24 https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-07/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer-bundesverteidigungsministerin-vereidigung-regierungserklaerung
[15] Kramp-Karrenbauer: Entscheidung über Golfmission offen 2019-07-31 https://orf.at/stories/3132186/
[16] OMID NOURIPOUR : Grünen-Politiker offen für Bundeswehreinsatz am Persischen Golf 2019-07-29 https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/omid-nouripour-offen-fuer-bundeswehreinsatz-am-persischen-golf-16307473.html
[17] Irankrise - Schickt die Bundeswehr Kriegsschiffe in den Golf? 2019-07-29 https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/iran-krise-schickt-die-bundeswehr-kriegsschiffe-in-den-golf-a-1279517.html
[18] Atlantik Brücke - Gremien https://www.atlantik-bruecke.org/die-atlantik-bruecke/gremien/
[19] Iran-Konflik - Grünen-Chef kann sich europäische Mission im Persischen Golf vorstellen 2019-08-03
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran-konflikt-persischer-golf-gruene-habeck-1.4551541
[20] IM EIGENEN INTERESSE : Habeck offen für „Beteiligung an europäischer Mission im Persischen Golf“ 2019-08-03
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/habeck-fuer-europaeische-mission-im-persischen-golf-16316237.html
[21] Ein Schiff wird kommen? Deutsche maritime Optionen in der Straße von Hormus 2019-08-10
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EFTxt-xxooA92lE4QE5mx2IaqIrWmLkQ/view
[22] US-Botschaft Berlin: Ambassador Grenell: "It is offensive to assume that the U.S. taxpayers will continue to pay for more than 50,000 Americans [U.S. troops] in #Germany, but the Germans get to spend their surplus on #domestic programs." #2percentby2024 2019-08-09
https://twitter.com/usbotschaft/status/1159770012535664641
[23] Streit um Verteidigungsausgaben - USA drohen erneut mit Truppenabzug aus Deutschland 2019-08-09
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/usa-truppen-deutschland-abzug-1.4558294
[24] VOR TRUMPS EUROPA-REISE : Vereinigte Staaten drohen Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/trumps-praesidentschaft/usa-verschaerfen-drohungen-mit-truppenabzug-aus-deutschland-16325042.html
[25] Vor Trumps Europareisen - US-Botschafter Grenell droht Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/richard-grenell-us-botschafter-droht-deutschland-mit-truppenabzug-a-1281136.html#ref=rss
[26] Verteidigungspolitik : USA drohen Deutschland mit Truppenabzug 2019-08-09
https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2019-08/usa-verteidigung-nato-truppen-deutschland-abzug-polen
[27] Drohung der USA - US-Truppen in Polen statt in Deutschland? 2019-08-09
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/truppenabzug-usa-deutschland-101.html
[28] Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops 2019-03-08
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/trump-said-to-seek-huge-premium-from-allies-hosting-u-s-troops
[29] Drucksache 17/5279 - Ausländische Streitkräfte in Deutschland 2011-04-14
http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/055/1705586.pdf
[30] Grundgesetz - Art. 120
https://dejure.org/gesetze/GG/120.html
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