A senior UN official on Friday called for the rapid implementation of a confidence-building mechanism to restore safe maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN under-secretary-general, executive director of the UN Office for Project Services and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force, said the escalating conflict in the Middle East has evolved from disrupting shipping to being exacerbated by the disruption itself.
Da Silva warned that disruptions to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes are driving up energy and food prices and threatening millions with acute food insecurity.
"The Mechanism is ready to become operational, subject to the will of all Parties in the conflict and in the region."
"It is time to give a chance to an operational mechanism to build confidence and trust," he said.
Da Silva reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' calls for restraint and de-escalation, saying reducing risks to civilians and restoring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz should be the international community's immediate priority.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN Office for Project Services is ready to deploy the mechanism "quickly."
Asked about a possible timeline, Dujarric said it could be deployed "in a matter of weeks ... very quickly."
"The point is, we can't impose anything, so it's a matter of when the parties, the belligerents in this conflict, say 'yes, this is a good idea. We want to go forward with this,'" he added.
Regional tensions have escalated over the past two weeks after President Donald Trump announced on July 8 that the ceasefire outlined in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding was no longer in effect.
Since then, the US and Iran have exchanged strikes, with Washington targeting sites inside Iran while Tehran says it has attacked US military facilities and equipment across several countries in the region.
