No NATO mission requested in Strait of Hormuz, Stoltenberg says

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday there had been no formal request for the military alliance to launch a mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US has proposed stepping up efforts to safeguard the vital oil route at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Tehran.

The US Embassy in Berlin said on Tuesday that Washington had formally asked Germany to join France and Britain in a mission to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and to “combat Iranian aggression,” Reuters reported.

European countries forming a naval coalition for the Gulf would send a hostile message, Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei was reported as saying on Sunday.