London, July 14 (SANA)TheInternational Maritime Organization(IMO) on Tuesday condemned attacks on maritime navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz that killed at least two seafarers and wounded several others, calling for an immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue, according to a statement from the UN agency.

“We are gravely concerned by the latest attacks,” an IMO spokesperson said, adding that the agency is urgently working with authorities to confirm the circumstances. “IMO wholly condemns these attacks. The cycle of escalation must end”.

The IMO Council, which concluded its 137th session on July 10, adopted a resolution reaffirming that the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation “should not be threatened, impeded, denied, hampered, impaired or suspended”. The Council stressed that any measures taken by coastal states to regulate traffic in vital shipping lanes must comply with IMO regulations under the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea.

Toll-free passage, calls for restraint

The Council stressed that any arrangement between littoral states must guarantee the non-discriminatory and unimpeded right of transit passage for all ships through the internationally recognized traffic separation scheme adopted by IMO in 1968. It also reaffirmed that passage through the Strait should remain free of any tolls and charges in accordance with international law, following US PresidentDonald Trump‘s announcement of a 20% fee on goods passing through the waterway.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez had earlier condemned the attacks, saying, “No seafarer should have to risk their life simply for doing their job”. The IMO chief noted that the latest attacks have intensified the fear and psychological strain already being endured by nearly 6,000 seafarers stranded aboard vessels unable to leave the Persian Gulf safely.

Iran escalated attacks on maritime navigation on July 12, announcing the closure of thestraitand expanding attacks on neighboring Arab countries, while Washington intensified its strikes and reimposed a naval blockade, threatening regional stability and undermining the temporary agreement reached in June to end the war that began in late February.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday that disruptions to the flow of food, medicines and other commodities have severe socioeconomic and humanitarian consequences both regionally and globally, and that “diplomacy, restraint and de-escalation must be prioritized”.