Estonia ‘ready To Talk’ On Strait Of Hormuz Backup

Estonia’s defense minister is open to helping the United States in its war with Iran.

In an interview Tuesday evening, minister Hanno Pevkur said he was meeting with U.S. officials, including deputy national security adviser Andy Baker and defense leaders, and had a message: “We are ready to talk.”

Although he said there had not been an official U.S. request to Tallinn for help, he pointed to Trump’s broader call for NATO allies to provide assistance. “When the president is saying something like that, then we need to be open, at least, to the discussion to understand what we can do together to solve that situation,” Pevkur added.

Pevkur said Estonia could offer help with its expertise on demining, which could prove useful given reports Iran is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. However, he noted “when we talk about, for instance, demining, there has to be a ceasefire.”

The White House is urging allies to help secure the strait after Iran attacked tankers moving through the channel. The disruptions to the vital shipping waterway have roiled financial markets. Trump on Tuesday fumed at what he referred to as allies who “will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”

Germany, France, Spain, Canada and Australia have ruled out military assistance to secure the strait. Other allies have given tepid responses, with Japan’s leader “vigorously examining” whether escorting ships would comply with its laws.

Allies have hesitated to join the fight against Iran, in part because the Trump administration did not consult with the European Union or NATO or consolidate a coalition ahead of its strikes in late February.

Pevkur said “it’s not worth much to discuss” how the situation unfolded. “The reality is that it happened, it is ongoing, and we need to find a solution.”

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said Tuesday he could see a potential deal in offering Trump European military support to secure the waterway, in exchange for the U.S. supporting Ukraine to reach an acceptable peace deal with Russia.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called it a “unilateral war” that will undermine the international order.

Pevkur declined to wade into a debate over allies’ responses. “It is important to keep the unity, because when we lose that unity, this is exactly what Russia has been trying to achieve for the last decades,” he said.

A version of this story previously appeared in Politico's National Security Daily newsletter.