At UN, Saudi FM warns world failing to protect Gulf shipping

At UN, Saudi FM warns world failing to protect Gulf shipping

Saudi Arabia warned UN members Saturday that attempts to block Middle East waterways are a threat to global energy security and demanded the international community do more to defend freedom of navigation.

Since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Tehran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while its Houthi allies in Yemen have subsequently done the same in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Both waterways are vital routes for oil and gas exports.

"The international community has been absent from assuming its responsibilities in confronting all that threatens international peace and security," Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the United Nations General Assembly.

"The kingdom stresses the importance of guaranteeing the protection of freedom of navigation in all international waterways, foremost among them the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden," he said.