<\/p>\n
The latest escalation follows US strikes on approximately 140 targets on Saturday, which Washington said were launched in response to an Iranian attack on a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has reportedly responded with attacks targeting a US military base in Jordan, while the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait have reported missile and drone attacks originating from Iran.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The renewed fighting has effectively ended a fragile ceasefire agreed last month and has heightened concerns about regional stability, maritime security and global economic impacts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres expressed alarm over the deteriorating situation and urged all parties to avoid further military escalation. \u201cThe Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the serious escalation,\u201d a UN statement said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guterres called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, halt further attacks and take immediate steps to reduce tensions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The UN warned that a return to full-scale hostilities would have severe consequences for populations across the Middle East and could undermine global economic stability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One of the immediate concerns is the impact on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most important energy transit routes. Reports of attacks on vessels and growing security risks have disrupted shipping traffic through the waterway, which lies between Iran and Oman.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The renewed instability has already contributed to rising energy prices and growing uncertainty in global markets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the UN, around 6 000 seafarers remain stranded aboard vessels affected by the disruption. The International Maritime Organisation has advised ships to avoid transiting the Strait of Hormuz until safety conditions improve.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The UN has also called for the restoration of full freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The latest developments come despite a memorandum of understanding signed between Tehran and Washington on June 17 aimed at reducing tensions and preventing further incidents at sea.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guterres urged both Iran and the United States to return to diplomacy as the preferred path to resolving outstanding disputes. \u201cThe Secretary-General urges Iran and the US to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy,\u201d UN Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39463,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-39462","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nations (UN) has called for urgent de-escalation after renewed military action between Iran and the United States (US) raised fears of a broader conflict across the Gulf region and renewed disruption to global energy markets.","published_date":"","news_description":"The United Nations (UN) has called for urgent de-escalation after renewed military action between Iran and the United States (US) raised fears of a broader conflict across the Gulf region and renewed disruption to global energy markets.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39464,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39462\/revisions\/39464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=39462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}