UN begins evacuation of 11,000 sailors fleeing Strait of Hormuz | US-Israel War on Iran News

Following the start of the US-Israel war in Iran on February 28, Tehran closed the channel, leaving the ships stranded.

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has begun evacuating more than 11,000 sailors in the Strait of Hormuz following memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement on Tuesday that the project will be carried out “in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal countries in the region, the United States and the maritime industry”.

“We have obtained the necessary security assurances and have confirmed in detail how they will operate to support this,” he said.

Following the start of the US-Israeli war in Iran on February 28, Tehran closed the channel, leaving ships stuck on the route.

But traffic on the route has increased since the signing of the agreement last week, with the Kpler intelligence agency reporting that at least 36 commercial ships passed through the channel on Monday, a record for traffic since the start of the war.

According to Oman’s Ministry of Defense, the evacuation process under the IMO plan, which has been under discussion for several months, will be cancelled.

“Given the current high risk of collisions, a slow and controlled evacuation of the vehicle fleet is essential,” it said.

Denmark announced on Tuesday that it would join an international maritime project launched by France and Britain to help reopen the vital waterway.

Report from the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi explained that the negotiations between the US and Iran on the peace agreement have been “a little better”.

“Today, we have a joint statement from the Omani side and Iran saying that they are talking about ways to regain trade through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a good sign,” he said.

“However, it remains to be seen how long it will take for the road to reopen, and until then, we are seeing hundreds of ships stranded on both sides of Hormuz.”

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State of America Marco Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and said that Iran will not be allowed to pay any final debt with the US.

“It is an international shipping route. No country is allowed to charge fees or charges on an international shipping route,” he said, adding that he believed “all countries in the region would agree”.

Tehran’s Supreme Leader, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has previously insisted that the Strait of Hormuz “will not return” to its pre-war status, despite the adversaries agreeing to establish lines of communication to keep them open.