🔶 Germany’s foreign minister: We do not accept Iran and the Houthis extorting global trade

Johann Wadenvohl, Germany’s foreign minister, before departing for Istanbul, said his country does not accept that Iran and the Houthis extort global trade and keep supplying energy and the world’s fertilizer under pressure.

He called for an end to attacks on free shipping and on neighboring countries, and warned that disruptions to maritime routes, in addition to increasing the cost of living, could jeopardize food security.

Wadenvohl said: “We all feel the consequences of attacks on maritime routes; whether it’s in terms of fuel or in supermarkets.” He added that in some regions, the timely delivery of agricultural fertilizer may be at risk and can create the danger of famine.

Germany’s foreign minister is scheduled to travel to Turkey on Friday, October 23, to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of eight countries in Istanbul; a meeting to review the security of shipping, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis’ attacks, and the threat to grain transfers in the Black Sea. He is expected to hold talks in Istanbul with Hakan Fidan, his Turkish counterpart, and the foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

According to Wadenvohl, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, and shipping and the escalation of Russia’s attacks on grain shipments in the Black Sea require cooperation beyond the usual diplomatic frameworks.

Germany’s foreign minister also accused Moscow of deliberately accepting the risk of shortages of food materials in the countries of the Global South by attacking grain shipments; a situation, he said, that most harms the poorest people and countries that depend on wheat imports.