Germany to Participate in EU Naval Mission in the Red Sea

The Chair of the Defense Committee in the German Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, stated that "Germany is expected to participate in a European Union naval mission to protect navigation in the Red Sea, which will be approved by the foreign ministers of the bloc this month." She added that "the mission's goal will be for EU frigates to secure commercial vessels passing through the strait." Strack-Zimmermann said, "This is an attack on free trade and must be confronted." Attacks by Iranian-allied Houthis from Yemen have nearly paralyzed the waterways leading to the Suez Canal in the Red Sea. The shipping routes in that region are among the most important in the world.