Reuters · October 14, 2026

UN Official Says Hormuz Fertilizer Mechanism Could Be Activated Within 7 to 10 Days of a U.S.-Iran Agreement

• UN Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira da Silva said on Wednesday that a UN-backed mechanism for moving fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz could be activated within 7 to 10 days of an agreement between Washington and Tehran, according to the report. The United Nations set up a taskforce for the passage in March.
• He said passage of only five vessels per day through Hormuz could keep fertilizer supplies flowing to countries in critical need, and that the proposed operation would use a coordination centre in Oman to register vessels, according to the report.
• Before the war, the waterway handled roughly a third of globally traded urea and nearly half of seaborne sulphur, according to the report.
• The White House, the US State Department and Iran's Embassy in Bangkok did not immediately reply to a request for comment, according to the report.

Statements attributed to the named UN official as reported. Original headline: "Failure to activate Hormuz fertilizer plan could trigger food crisis, UN official says".