Overview
- German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged the UN Security Council on Monday in New York to act on maritime security and restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, arguing for a possible UN mandate to protect commercial shipping.
- Germany says Iran’s forces have largely shut the key waterway since the Iran war began and the United States is blocking Iranian ports, a combination that has snarled oil, gas, and fertilizer flows and raised fears of food shortages in poorer countries.
- Wadephul is coupling the Hormuz appeal with a campaign for a 2027–2028 non‑permanent Council seat, courting support from UN member states including Africa’s bloc ahead of the June 3 secret ballot against Austria and Portugal.
- His New York program includes a Security Council debate on maritime security, the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty review conference, and meetings with UN chief António Guterres and IAEA director Rafael Grossi to press UN reform and non‑proliferation goals.
- Prospects for a Council mandate remain uncertain after China and Russia blocked recent drafts on reopening Hormuz, though Germany signals readiness to join a securing mission once fighting stops and continues to seek a resolution to underpin any operation.