UN Chief Warns Hormuz Closure Is Strangling Global Economy

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark warning that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is inflicting severe damage on the global economy, describing the situation as effectively strangling international trade and energy flows. The statement marks one of the strongest interventions by the UN chief on the crisis and underscores the mounting alarm within multilateral institutions over the waterway's prolonged blockage.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated twenty percent of the world's traded oil passes, has been subject to restrictions that have sent energy prices surging and disrupted shipping routes across Asia, Europe, and beyond. The closure has compounded existing inflationary pressures in import-dependent economies, including Pakistan, and has triggered emergency consultations among major energy-consuming nations.

Guterres called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to guarantee freedom of navigation through the strait, warning that continued disruption risked tipping vulnerable economies into recession. The Secretary-General's remarks were addressed to the UN Security Council, where diplomatic efforts to resolve the underlying tensions have thus far produced limited progress.

The closure has already triggered record freight costs and forced tanker rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope, significantly increasing delivery times and costs for oil-importing nations across South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan, which relies heavily on imported crude and liquefied natural gas, has been among the countries most acutely affected by the supply chain disruption.