"In principle, the government considers the proposal on a protective naval mission still worth being mentioned, is in contact with European partners, with France and the United Kingdom above all," Demmer told reporters.
The United Kingdom has called for a European-led mission to secure commercial shipping in the strait, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil passes after Iran seized a UK-flagged oil tanker, Stena Impero.
According to media reports, the United States officially proposed to Germany this week to join its own coalition on shipping security and combat Iranian aggression but was rebuffed by Berlin, which said it would not be part of Washington’s "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.
Germany has been critical of the US policy on Iran after the United States pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran last year and reimposed sanctions on it. EU signatories to the 2015 pact said they wanted to keep it in place.
