After pressure from Trump, allies signal support in Hormuz

In the statement, the countries condemn “in the strongest terms” the Iranian attacks against unarmed ships, civilian infrastructure, oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, which – they reiterate – constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817.

Furthermore, they stated their readiness to “contribute to appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, without providing further details and without specifically addressing the US request to join a coalition to escort cargo ships attempting to cross the strategic route.

“Maritime safety and freedom of navigation benefit all countries”, they argued, before appealing “to all countries to respect international law”.

Neither the US nor Israel — the latter of which also bombed a huge gas facility in Iran in recent hours — were mentioned by name in the statement.

WTO warns about impact of war on imports of food and fertilizers

Also this Thursday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) warned about the impact of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz on fertilizer imports from the main agricultural producing countries, as well as on food imports from countries in the Persian Gulf region.

“In addition to fuels, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the supply of fertilizers, which are critical to global agriculture,” the organization said in its presentation on the outlook for the global economy and trade.

The WTO detailed that large agricultural producers, such as India, Thailand and Brazil, depend on this route for 40%, 70% and 35% of their urea imports, respectively.

“Not only does 20% of the oil consumed pass through Hormuz, but also 30% of the fertilizers, so we are talking about a very significant impact on food importers and food security,” said WTO chief economist Robert Staiger.