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UN Secretary-General Demands Hormuz Reopening
(MENAFN) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent call Wednesday for an immediate halt to ceasefire violations stemming from the Iran conflict and pressed for the restoration of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, cautioning that the world economy stands to suffer gravely if the crisis persists.
Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Guterres left no ambiguity about the UN's position. "It is essential to immediately reestablish the freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and to end all ceasefire violations and create conditions for a political solution to the conflict," he said.
The UN chief warned that the ongoing Middle East turmoil was feeding inflation and widening the global cost-of-living crisis, with energy prices, raw materials and fertilizer costs all climbing as a direct result of the instability.
Guterres laid blame on a fractured international order, stating that "mistrust and geopolitical divisions" are obstructing meaningful responses to the world's most pressing conflicts, and cautioning that nations are "flouting international law with impunity."
"Our world today is rocked by conflicts, climate chaos and inequality," Guterres added, painting a stark picture of compounding global crises.
He also sounded the alarm over shifting spending priorities among world powers. "Military spending is outpacing spending on aid, while funding cuts have devastating consequences for the world's most vulnerable people," he said.
The tensions trace back to February 28, when US and Israeli strikes against Iran triggered severe disruptions along the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most critical arteries for maritime trade. A ceasefire, brokered through Pakistani mediation, took hold on April 8, but persistent violations and deadlocked negotiations have stoked fears of a fresh escalation.
US President Donald Trump has since extended the truce indefinitely, while keeping restrictions in place on ships transiting the strategic waterway to or from Iranian ports.
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