UN urges US and Iran to agree on fertilizer transit through Strait of Hormuz — Al Jazeera
In Bangkok, Thailand, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva called on the United States and Iran to agree within several weeks on a UN-backed mechanism for transporting fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that without a swift agreement, some regions of Asia and Africa could face a food security crisis, Al Jazeera reports.
UN mechanism
The proposed mechanism provides for the creation of a coordination center in Oman staffed by UN personnel. It would register vessels and oversee their safe passage through the waterway. UN monitors, together with local authorities at Persian Gulf ports, would inspect cargo loading, while vessels would be tracked during transit. If necessary, countries could initiate additional inspections of a vessel or its cargo.
According to Moreira da Silva, the plan, prepared in March, can be launched within seven to ten days after Washington and Tehran agree. Five vessels passing through the strait per day would be sufficient to maintain supplies to countries most in need of fertilizers.
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Risk to the planting season
The UN official stressed that the approaching planting season makes an agreement particularly urgent. Farmers follow strict crop-growing calendars, so even a minor delay can significantly affect yields. If the planting season is missed, agricultural productivity will decline substantially and the impact on prices will increase, he said.
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been seriously disrupted since the start of the US and Israeli war against Iran. Before the war, this route carried about one-third of global supplies of urea—the most common nitrogen fertilizer—and nearly half of seaborne sulfur supplies, an important raw material. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, the share of fertilizers among cargoes currently passing through the strait is very small.
Moreira da Silva said that the UN mechanism could operate in parallel with negotiations on a broader agreement to restore freedom of navigation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned in May that fertilizer shortages could worsen constraints on food supplies in late 2026 and in 2027.
