NATO members coordinate Strait of Hormuz support outside alliance as US-Iran tensions escalate

As US-Iran tensions escalate, NATO's top commander General Alexus Grynkewich hosted a videoconference on August 19, 2026, to help allies coordinate maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz outside of an official NATO mission. Concurrently, France and Britain are leading a 12-nation coalition to secure the waterway, which has seen shipping volumes plummet. US President Donald Trump has claimed the strait is "American territory" under a US blockade, while Iran insists the waterway is closed until the US honors a June 17 peace deal.

NATO coordination outside alliance framework

• ▪Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe hosted a videoconference of interested allies at the chief of defense level on August 19, 2026, to facilitate potential contributions to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
• ▪The coordination meeting hosted by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe on August 19, 2026, was explicitly designated as not being an official NATO mission.
• ▪NATO allies have sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict with Iran, focusing instead on plans outside the alliance framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US-Iran Strait of Hormuz conflict

• ▪At least 17 commercial ships came under attack in and around the Strait of Hormuz during July and August 2026, resulting in at least four sailor deaths and more than a dozen injuries, according to the International Maritime Organization.
• ▪The International Monetary Fund expects Iran's economy to contract by more than 5% in 2026, representing its worst economic contraction in almost four decades, amid US sanctions and a blockade of Iranian ports.
• ▪Iran stated on August 18, 2026, that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets its obligations under an interim peace deal signed on June 17, 2026.
• ▪Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of US control over the Strait of Hormuz as "delusions."
• ▪US President Donald Trump described the Strait of Hormuz as "an American territory" during a campaign event in South Carolina on August 21, 2026, as the US military blockade of Iranian shipping continues.

Reduced oil shipping volumes

• ▪Daily vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to a tiny fraction of the 130 daily transits recorded before the war, with crude oil-laden Very Large Crude Carriers averaging only two to three transits per day since July 7, 2026.
• ▪Kpler data indicates that 72 of the 84 crude oil-laden tankers that transited the Strait of Hormuz between July 7, 2026, and August 20, 2026, sailed "dark" by turning off their Automatic Identification Systems to avoid detection.
• ▪The maritime intelligence firm Windward estimated that crude oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz averaged approximately 5 million barrels per day in July 2026, compared to 4 million barrels per day in June and 1.6 million barrels per day in May.

US military escort operations

• ▪US Central Command reported that American forces redirected 68 commercial vessels on August 21, 2026, to comply with the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian shipping and ports.
• ▪The US military has assisted approximately 1,300 commercial vessels and helped transport more than 660 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May 2026, according to US Central Command.
• ▪The US military assists commercial ships using a southern route along Oman's coast, while Iran demands that vessels use a northern route through its territorial waters or risk attack.

European coalition-building efforts

• ▪Any long-term arrangement to secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz will ultimately require Iranian acquiescence, according to European coalition planners.
• ▪France and Britain are leading diplomatic efforts to build a coalition of approximately 12 countries to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz once regional tensions ease or the conflict is resolved.
• ▪Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud agreed on August 19, 2026, on the importance of ensuring free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz without additional costs.

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