Shehbaz Sharif at the UN: Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb are ‘the arteries of the global economy’ and must stay open

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sharply condemned in his address to the UN General Assembly what he called Israel’s “genocidal agenda” in Palestine, while also denouncing aggression against Lebanon and Syria. “It must stop immediately,” he told world leaders in New York, according to Al Jazeera’s live broadcast.

Turning to the U.S.–Iran conflict, Sharif said the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb strait are “the arteries of the global economy” and “must remain open.” The statement comes as Iran has closed Hormuz to Western commercial shipping and the U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, in a war now nearing its seventh month.

The significance of Pakistan’s stance is also tied to the Mecca Pact on collective defense: on the same day, the military chiefs of the Mecca Pact countries met in Riyadh, where they reaffirmed their commitment to defending Saudi Arabia and reviewed threats to the kingdom, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry — following Houthi missile strikes on Saudi targets.

Sharif’s speech came as UN diplomacy intensified: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented Washington with a concrete plan to reopen Hormuz within seven days, saying “the choice now belongs to the United States.”