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

Since the outbreak of the war in Iran four weeks ago, the passage of vessels through the critical oil route, the Strait of Hormuz, seems to remain fundamentally stagnant. Iran has stated that it will expedite the safe passage of humanitarian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz at the request of the United Nations.

Iran’s representative to the United Nations stated that the measures reflect Iran’s commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and that specific arrangements will be determined with the United Nations in due course, aiming to ensure the safety of vessels from non-hostile countries in the Strait of Hormuz.

Additionally, Bloomberg cited tracking data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, indicating that only 4 bulk carriers and 2 liquefied petroleum gas carriers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, totaling 39 vessels in the past 7 days. In comparison, an average of nearly 60 merchant ships passed through daily in 2025.

According to semi-official news agency Mehr, Iran forced three container ships of different nationalities to turn back on Friday. Two large container ships associated with the Chinese state-owned enterprise China COSCO Shipping Corporation recently attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to leave the Persian Gulf but suddenly turned back when approaching Iran.

Despite Iran’s attempts to establish a toll system, with individual voyage “toll fees” reaching up to $2 million, this initiative does not seem to have boosted traffic. Tehran also stated this week that it will prohibit vessels from “hostile” countries from passing, meaning that vessels from some other countries may be allowed to transit.

Tracking data also shows that the “gift” claimed by Trump, stating that Iran would allow 10 oil tankers to pass, seems yet to be fulfilled.

On Friday, Iran and Israel continued to launch missiles at each other, with Tehran also targeting Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia reported that it had intercepted drones and missiles heading to Riyadh, alarms sounded in Doha, and Kuwait’s port was damaged in a drone attack. Israel claimed it is intensifying its strikes on Iranian military infrastructure.