Middle East Situation | Iran: Should expedite the passage of humanitarian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz at the UN's request

Four weeks after the outbreak of the Iran war, traffic through the key oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, appears to still be largely stalled. A United Nations spokesperson said the UN has set up a working group to establish a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate fertilizer trade and the transport of related inputs. Iran said it will, at the request of the United Nations, speed up the safe passage of humanitarian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s representative to the United Nations said the measures reflect Iran’s commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts, and that it will, in a timely manner, coordinate specific arrangements with the United Nations to help ensure the safety of vessels from non-belligerent countries transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

In addition, citing tracking data from ship automatic identification system (AIS) signals, Bloomberg reported that on Thursday only 4 bulk carriers and 2 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers transited the Strait of Hormuz, for a total of 39 ships over the past 7 days. By contrast, in 2025 the average was nearly 60 merchant ships per day.

A semi-official report by the Mehr news agency said Iran on Friday forced three cargo container ships of different nationalities to turn back. Two large container ships linked to China Ocean Shipping Group (COSCO) recently had tried to sail out of the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, but suddenly turned back as they approached Iran.

Although Iran has tried to set up a toll system, with a single voyage “pass-through fee” potentially reaching as high as $2 million, the move apparently has not boosted traffic volumes. Tehran also said this week it will bar “hostile” countries’ ships from transiting, which implies that some other countries’ vessels may be allowed to pass.

Tracking data also shows that the “gift” Trump claimed—Iran allowing 10 oil tankers to pass—apparently has not yet been carried out.

On Friday, Iran and Israel continued to fire missiles at each other, and Tehran also targeted countries in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia reported that it had intercepted drones and missiles headed for Riyadh, alarms went off in Doha, and Kuwait’s ports were damaged in drone strikes. Israel said it is stepping up attacks on Iran’s military infrastructure.