GCC seeks UN mandate to open Hormuz

UNITED NATIONS:

The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday called for the UN Security Council to authorise the use of force to protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks.

Iran has placed a stranglehold on the key shipping lane - threatening fuel supplies and buckling the global economy - in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on the country that triggered the month-old Middle East war.

"Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, prevented commercial vessels and oil tankers from transiting, and imposed conditions on some to pass through the Strait," said Jassem al-Budaiwi, head of the GCC. He spoke in New York at the first Security Council meeting on cooperation with the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.