BERLIN

German lawmakers from the co-ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), as well as the opposition far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), on Monday dismissed US calls for European warships to protect oil tankers from Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Ships alone aren’t enough. (US President) Donald Trump didn’t consider that when he started this war against Iran together with Israel,” Jurgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary faction, told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

The coastline is densely populated, and Iran could easily launch attacks from there using mortars or simple drones, he said.

Hardt added that, in his view, Trump himself does not know how to solve the problem

“I would suggest that we simply have to accept for now that the passage will remain blocked until there is some kind of change in Iran," he said, adding that it would mean either some kind of ceasefire or the overthrow of the regime.

Hardt’s statements were echoed by SPD foreign policy expert Adis Ahmetovic, who told public broadcaster ZDF that, as things stand, Trump has miscalculated.

“It was initially supposed to be a very quick, short war. And we are now realizing that this war will go on for several more weeks,” he said.

"The German navy is very capable and possesses special skills, but its capabilities are not geared toward participating in this potential scenario at this time," he said. "Furthermore, the goals and strategy of the US and Israel in this war, which violates international law, are not convincing."

Meanwhile, AfD leader Alice Weidel told the website The Pioneer that currently not even the US Navy is capable of ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Against this backdrop, she said a deployment of the “small German navy – even within the framework of the EU – is illusory and highly dangerous.”

On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany would not participate in an international military mission to protect merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Will we soon become an active part of this conflict? No,” Wadephul told public broadcaster ARD.​​​​​​​