Guardian. The US and Iran must come to the negotiating table to immediately end the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz and stop hostilities in the Middle East, the head of the European Commission says.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said Iran’s efforts to block the strategic waterway via attacks on unarmed commercial vessels and critical infrastructure “must be condemned”.
Visiting Australia to sign a new free trade agreement, von der Leyen said an end to the war was necessary to stop growing global economic disruption. About 20% of global oil supplies travel through the strait.
“Iran has to cease immediately the threats, [the] laying of mines, drones and missile attacks, and other attempts to block the strait to commercial shipping,” she said in Canberra on Tuesday.
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“The situation is critical for … energy supply allies worldwide.
“We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices … but it is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and [that] this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East.”
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