The United States has asked Germany to join an international naval mission to help secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the US embassy in Berlin said Tuesday, as tensions mount between Washington and Iran.
The request comes after Britain last week ordered its navy to escort UK-flagged ships in the world's busiest oil shipping lane in response to Iranian soldiers seizing a tanker in the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf.
"We've formally asked Germany to join France and the UK to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and combat Iranian aggression," said a statement by embassy spokeswoman Tamara Sternberg-Greller.
"Members of the German government have been clear that freedom of navigation should be protected... Our question is, protected by whom?"