On the first day of the United Nations General Assembly, the Middle East crisis and shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz were among the topics of remarks by several world leaders. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, said that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz should not be turned into an “instrument for extortion,” and called reopening the waterway a priority. Reuters also reported that France, in coordination with the United States, is drafting a resolution aimed at creating an international mission to resume shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, said the crisis in the Persian Gulf can be resolved through diplomacy, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and reviving negotiations. He warned that closing a waterway through which nearly a quarter of the world’s energy trade passes would affect the global economy.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, called for reducing tensions and fully restoring freedom of navigation. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, also said that expanding the fighting into neighboring areas benefits no one. At the same time, Donald Trump, President of the United States, said that a three-hour meeting had been held between U.S. officials and a delegation of the Islamic Republic and described it as “very constructive.”