2026-03-26
1 小时 5 分钟I'm Dan Kurtz-Falen, and this is the Foreign Affairs Interview.
We talked about Spain, and we could add maybe Norway and Slovenia,
but frankly speaking, most European countries are united in their ambiguity.
They don't like this war.
Some have actually even recognized that it represents a violation of international law,
but actually none of them, apart from those few that I 've mentioned, have condemned it.
When it comes to the Middle East crisis, I mean, honestly, I think the Europeans have very little to offer, right?
It was the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, I mean, what would a handful of European frigates,
a few ships do in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty U.S. Navy can not solve?
I'm Chloe Fox, deputy editor of Foreign Affairs.
Dan is away this week.
Just a few weeks after its opening salvos, the war in Iran is already going global.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, stranding oil tankers and causing energy prices to skyrocket.
Donald Trump has asked European partners to help restore freedom of navigation.
So far, they have largely rebuffed his requests for military assistance.
But as the economic pain mounts, their resolve will surely be tested.
Europe's difficult position is indicative of a dilemma the continent's leaders have faced since Trump's return.
Whether to marshal their resources and will to push back against Trump's coercion, or to give in to it.
In 2025, according to the political scientists Natalie Tocci and Matthias Matthijs, they chose wrong.
Instead of insisting on bargaining with the United States as an equal partner,