Political deadlock keeps NATO from planning Strait of Hormuz mission

NATO is not drawing up any plans for a potential mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would need a political decision to do so, its top commander said on Tuesday, amid suggestions by some members that the alliance could play a role there.

Any decision to launch a mission would require the approval of all NATO's 32 members and several have already signalled opposition, although no formal proposal has been presented so far, according to diplomats.

"The conditions under which NATO would consider operating in the strait of Hormuz are ultimately a political decision," said US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe.

"The political direction comes first, and then the formal planning happens after that. Am I thinking about it? Absolutely...But there's no planning yet until the political decision is taken," he told reporters in Brussels.