‘Not our war’: German defense minister rejects Trump’s call for military support against Iran

By Reuters 16 March 2026, 2:41 pm

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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius speaks during a press statement in front of the Bayerischer Hof hotel, home of the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2023. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejects demands by US President Donald Trump for military support in the US-Israeli war against Iran and downplays threats that such a stance by allies would hurt the NATO alliance.

“What does (…) Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot do?” he says in Berlin. “This is not our war, we have not started it.”

Asked about Trump’s warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid, Pistorius says he does not anticipate NATO to fall apart over these differences.