Hormuz, Red Sea crises pull Middle East into ‘widening circle of confrontation,’ UN chief warns
NEW YORK CITY: The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, warned the Security Council on Thursday that the security crises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea risk pulling the Middle East into “an ever-widening circle of confrontation,” as he called for the full restoration of international navigational rights in both waterways.
Speaking during a meeting of the council on the peaceful settlement of disputes, he said trust between parties was eroding and it was “becoming harder to reach and maintain” negotiated settlements.
“The situation is getting out of control,” he added. “It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable.”
Guterres warned that one crisis was feeding another, and one escalation triggering the next, with political objectives increasingly obscured by the confrontation itself.
