"At the moment the Britons would rather join an American mission. We won't do that," Maas told reporters.

"We want a European mission," he said, adding that the issue was not off the agenda but it would take time to convince the European Union to carry out such a mission.

The US Embassy in Berlin said on Tuesday the United States had asked Germany to join France and Britain in a mission to protect shipping through the strait and "combat Iranian aggression". Germany rejected the request.