Netherlands Ready to Join International Mission Securing Strait of Hormuz
Foreign minister confirmed that the Netherlands would contribute to a strictly defensive international mission, alongside France and others, once the US and Iran sign their framework agreement.
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The Netherlands has confirmed that it is ready to take part in an international mission to keep the Strait of Hormuz safely open, once a framework peace agreement between the United States and Iran is signed at the end of this week. Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen (CDA) made the announcement on Monday morning in Luxembourg, where he is taking part in a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
The framework deal
The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, announced on Sunday that a peace agreement between the United States and Iran has been reached, and that the two sides will sign a so-called framework agreement (raamovereenkomst) on Friday 19 June in Geneva. The text is described as a memorandum of understanding rather than a full peace treaty: after signing, both sides will continue negotiating to reach a definitive agreement. US vice-president JD Vance has said he intends to attend the signing ceremony, and president Donald Trump may also do so.
According to remarks by Vance, the immediate consequences of signing the deal would be the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the US naval blockade against Iran and a guarantee from Iran that it will “never develop, acquire or obtain a nuclear weapon.” Trump wrote on Truth Social that “with the opening of the strait after the signing of the deal on Friday, with the eye on clearing mines, oil will flow again for the region and the world.”
A “strictly defensive” mission
Even before the framework agreement is signed, dozens of countries have been working on the practical question of what happens at the strait the moment shipping resumes. The mission those countries have prepared can be “deployed quickly,” French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday in Luxembourg. France has taken the lead in setting up the international coalition for safe passage. Barrot stressed that the mission will be “strictly defensive in nature” and will operate “independently of the United States and Iran.”
The Netherlands is one of the countries that has signalled it is willing to join. "We are ready for it," Berendsen told reporters. The exact Dutch contribution will, however, depend on the content of the deal between Washington and Tehran, he said. That content will become clear on Friday, when the framework is signed.
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A shift in the Dutch position
The Dutch announcement marks a clear shift from earlier in the war. In March, prime minister Rob Jetten said it was “still too early” to say what kind of mission might be set up or whether the Netherlands could contribute. At the same time, then-German defence minister Boris Pistorius bluntly rejected involvement, saying “this is not our war, we didn’t start it.” Jetten later said in April that the Netherlands was “ready” to help secure the strait, but only if the fighting stopped first. With a framework agreement now in hand, that condition is finally close to being met.
Why the strait matters
The Strait of Hormuz is a roughly 50-kilometre-wide waterway between Iran and Oman, through which around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. Iran closed the strait to foreign shipping at the start of the war in late February 2026, after the United States and Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Iranian targets. The US imposed a naval blockade on Iran on 13 April after the collapse of earlier talks in Islamabad. Since April, Iran has let a limited number of vessels through, in some cases against payment, but for most cargo ships and tankers the strait has remained effectively closed.
The continued closure pushed up insurance premiums sharply, disrupted the supply of oil to global markets and contributed to the rising fuel costs that have been at the heart of recent Dutch debates over inflation, household support and the cost of public transport. Stock markets in Tokyo and Seoul rose sharply on Monday on the news of the framework agreement.
What still has to happen
The agreement, despite its dramatic announcement, still has loose ends. The full text of the deal is not yet public; the framework still has to be signed in Switzerland; and shipowners, according to Bloomberg, are waiting for more details before committing to send vessels back through the strait. Iran and Oman have separately said they may charge a toll of $2 million per ship to fund clean-up and repair work.
For the Netherlands, the immediate question is what shape its contribution to the international Hormuz mission will take. The likely options range from naval vessels to mine-clearance and surveillance support; what is clear, after Berendsen’s words on Monday, is that The Hague intends to be part of whichever coalition emerges after Friday.