UN official calls for temporary fertiliser passage through Hormuz

A senior UN official has urged the United States and Iran to allow fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary arrangement, warning that prolonged disruption could threaten harvests and food supplies.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, who coordinates a UN task force on the strait, told AFP at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya that the two countries should permit a limited arrangement immediately while continuing talks on a broader agreement.

He said missed planting seasons could reduce agricultural productivity and push up prices. Before the war, the waterway handled roughly a third of globally traded urea, a widely used fertiliser, according to Reuters.

The UN established the task force in March to develop a system for safe and predictable passage of commercial fertilisers and related raw materials. Reuters reported in October that the proposed mechanism had not yet been implemented.

Moreira da Silva told Reuters then that the plan involved a coordination centre in Oman to register and track vessels, with UN monitors helping to verify cargoes at Gulf ports. He said it could be activated within seven to ten days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran. He told AFP that five fertiliser ships a day were needed.

The International Food Policy Research Institute said in September that fertiliser shipments from the Gulf had remained largely halted more than six months into the conflict. Other commercial vessels have continued to cross: a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters in October that American forces had assisted thousands of ships through the strait.

Iran has sought to tighten its control over the waterway since US and Israeli strikes in February, while Washington has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Moreira da Silva said the fertiliser mechanism would be a temporary measure, not a replacement for freedom of navigation.