Belgium

Belgium moved from passive sanctions compliance to proactive maritime enforcement when its forces led Operation Blue Intruder, seizing a Russian-linked tanker flying a counterfeit flag in Belgian territorial waters, the first named European interdiction of a shadow-fleet vessel at sea.

The joint Belgium-France operation set a template the EU's own shift toward targeting shadow-fleet operators, brokers and registries later drew on, and one the UK subsequently scaled to structural Channel enforcement, giving Belgium's small navy outsized weight in the sanctions-evasion fight.

Belgium topped Group G by beating New Zealand 5-1 on 26 June, after a goalless draw with Iran had Left them down to ten men from the 66th minute. They then survived Senegal 3-2 after extra time, coming back from two goals down on a Youri Tielemans penalty in the 125th minute, before eliminating co-host United States 4-1 in Seattle to reach the last eight.

Spain ended the run 2-1 in the quarter-final on 10 July, the only goal Spain conceded in eight matches all tournament. Courtois went off injured in the 71st minute; his replacement, Manchester United's Senne Lammens, was making his World Cup debut when he spilled the shot from which Mikel Merino scored the winner.

Belgium rerouted its minehunter BNS Primula from the Baltic to the Gulf on 18 May, joining France's carrier Charles de Gaulle, a German minehunter and supply ship, and an Australian surveillance aircraft in a single-day expansion of the Hormuz coalition. None of the new commitments carried published rules of engagement.

The gap matters because the job is mine clearance, not air power: US Central Command said 90% of Iran's mine stockpile has been destroyed on land, but in-water mines still need specialised ships like Belgium's own. The deployment gives Belgium a Gulf presence for the first time since Operation Beware in 1987-88, alongside Italy, Germany and France.