Iran blames US, Israel for Hormuz tensions as crisis risks energy supplies

Iran’s Araghchi calls for global condemnation of US-Israel ‘military aggression’ that disrupted transit through the Strait of Hormuz.Published On 17 Mar 2026Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has blamed the United States-Israel war for disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global artery through which one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments transit.In a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, Araghchi said every country and international institution concerned with peace and security must condemn the US and Israel and demand an “end to their military aggression against the Iranian nation”, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel claims to have assassinated commander of Iran’s Basij militia unitlist 2 of 3Why the Iranian regime did not collapse after Khamenei’s assassinationlist 3 of 3Gulf economies suffer brunt of Iran war as recession risk loomsend of listA barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 2.5 percent at $105.70 on Monday. That is more than 40 percent higher than before the war began on February 28.Several nations are reported to be negotiating with Iran for safe passage, after a senior adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on March 2 that the strait was “closed” and threatening to set transiting ships “ablaze”.Araghchi on Monday said the strait was “open, but closed to our enemies”.US President Donald Trump over the weekend called for a naval coalition to join the US Navy in securing the waterway, but no countries have so far pledged to join. He specifically asked NATO member states to join the coalition, threatening that they would face a “very bad future” if they failed to assist the US.However, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated on Tuesday that Paris would “never” take part in operations to unblock the strait amid the ongoing conflict.