The commander of EU Operation Aspides has prepared a plan amendment that would extend the mission's area of operations to the Strait of Hormuz. The amendment does not require a new Council authorization — it is a modification to the existing operational plan, which commanders can propose under current mandate rules. [1]

The Foreign Affairs and Defence Council meeting on Monday produced broad support for the extension concept. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas endorsed it publicly. Belgium has committed a frigate, the first hard asset any member state has pledged specifically for a Hormuz presence. [2] The draft amendment also includes a request for a Hormuz no-fly zone, which would be a significant escalation of European posture in the Gulf and would require coordination with U.S. and Gulf partner air-traffic authorities.

This paper reported Tuesday that Europe was moving toward a Strait mission and that Tehran had promised to resist any such extension. The plan amendment confirms the movement is real. Whether it produces a deployed ship is a different question — Belgium's commitment is not a guarantee of transit, and Iran's position on any foreign naval presence at Hormuz has not changed. The no-fly zone request is the sharper element. Aspides began as a Red Sea escort mission. A Hormuz no-fly zone request would represent its transformation into something closer to Gulf enforcement.

-- HENDRIK VAN DER BERG, Brussels