🔶 UN warning: Iran and the US must reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

A senior United Nations official on Wednesday, October 14 (22 Mehr) warned that if the United States and Iran do not reach an agreement in the coming weeks on implementing a UN-backed plan to transfer chemical fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz, parts of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis.

The United Nations formed a special task force in March this year to facilitate the passage of chemical fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The mechanism designed by the task force has not yet entered into implementation; however, Jorge Moreira da Silva, the UN Under-Secretary-General who oversees the plan, said that if Washington and Tehran reach an agreement, this mechanism could be activated within 7 to 10 days.

In an interview in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, he said: “Reaching an agreement in the coming weeks is absolutely vital. Otherwise, we will miss the planting season.”