The German government has played down expectations that the Bundestag will vote on a mandate for a Bundeswehr deployment in the Strait of Hormuz before the parliamentary summer recess in July, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said on Monday.
"There are very clear conditions that we have attached to the granting of a mandate," Kornelius said in Berlin. "Since many of these conditions have not been met, I urge patience," he added. "I consider it urgently necessary that we refrain from speculating about dates."
Under the framework agreement between the United States and Iran, the aim is to reach a final deal between Washington and Tehran within 60 days, which is also to include provisions on handling Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.
Kornelius said this led "into a timeframe in which the Bundestag [lower house of parliament] will also be in summer recess."
"I would therefore be very cautious at this point about predicting dates," Kornelius said.
Kornelius said there had been no concrete US request regarding Germany's offer to deploy the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, for mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to international energy supplies.
There had been indirect calls from US President Donald Trump, who had urged European partners to provide support. "But there has been no specific request," he said.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had made clear last week on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French spa town of Évian that he expected the Bundestag to vote on the necessary mandate for a possible Bundeswehr deployment in the Strait of Hormuz immediately before the parliamentary summer recess in July. However, any deployment remained "subject to a whole series of conditions that have not yet been met," he said.
Kornelius: Implementing the framework agreement takes time
The government has pledged to make a minehunter and a supply vessel available to secure the important trade route once the Iran war ends. The ships have already passed through the Suez Canal and are to stand by off Djibouti for a possible deployment.
Kornelius said implementing the framework agreement was a process that required time.
The US-Iran talks in Switzerland over the weekend were a first interim step. There were clear conditions for granting a Bundeswehr mandate in the Strait of Hormuz, he said, including compliance with the ceasefire and the willingness of the warring parties to accept a presence on the ground.
A mandate that was sound under international law and the approval of the Bundestag were also required.
