Hormuz: UN opens channel on fertilizers and establishes working group on the strait

The United Nations has entered the Strait of Hormuz crisis through the channel of agricultural trade. On August 25, 2026 the organization offered to facilitate trade in fertilizers, severely disrupted by the closure of the waterway linked to the war with Iran. At the same time, according to Chinese broadcaster CGTN, a working group dedicated to the strait was established.

The newspaper has written repeatedly about the blockade and its consequences on maritime traffic: on August 15 about transits reduced to a minimum, and on August 23 about Iran’s response to the announcement of new US sanctions.

Secretary-General António Guterres indicated the goal of the initiative: to reduce immediate risks and achieve a more orderly and reliable passage, in support of diplomacy and de-escalation. “The goal is simple: to reduce immediate risks” (transl. from English), Guterres said. The offer concerns a specific commodity and not the whole of traffic: fertilizers are a good whose disruption has downstream effects on agricultural campaigns, and the announced channel is one of facilitation, not an agreement between the parties in conflict. The available material does not specify the composition, mandate or timeline of the working group, and on the establishment of the body the only source at this time is CGTN.

The move comes twenty-four hours after an American intervention of opposite sign. On August 24 the US Department of the Treasury launched ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, extending secondary sanctions to five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and maritime transport. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nearly sixty subjects among entities, individuals and vessels, accused of supporting Iran on nuclear and missile technology, cyber operations and oil revenues. The digital assets sector was included among those covered by Executive Order 13902.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent extended the warning to China: “No one is above US secondary sanctions.” Bessent also announced a further measure on a financial institution by the end of the week. The scope of the measure is thus broader than Iran alone: secondary sanctions hit those who trade with Tehran, not only Iranian subjects, and the explicit reference to China indicates who the warning is aimed at.

The two initiatives operate on different planes and in non-coinciding directions. One aims to reopen a specific trade corridor through multilateral mediation; the other restricts the payment, transport and technology supply channels on which that trade relies. Maritime transport is among the sectors sanctioned on August 24, and it is the same area in which the UN is offering to facilitate the passage of fertilizers: the two measures affect the same logistics chain.

Operational points remain to be verified. There are currently no reported reactions from Iran, the United States or China to the UN’s offer, nor any indication of who will take part in the working group. The measure on the financial institution announced by Bessent is expected by the end of this week.

Sources: Il Sole 24 Ore (English edition); CGTN Italian (Chinese state broadcaster); Sky TG24; Cryptonomist; ANSA.