Iran rebuffs criticism over Hormuz food supply disruption at FAO meeting

 ROME - Iran has dismissed a critical UAE-inspired motion at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) council and urged the UN body to help mitigate the impact of the US Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic.

 The motion, adopted at an unscheduled FAO meeting held last week to discuss disruption to food supply chains in the Strait of Hormuz, included criticism of Iran’s attacks on gulf countries and food-related infrastructure in the region.

 Around a third of the world's fertilisers normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with the price of the agricultural product having soared by 80 percent since the beginning of the conflict, according to analysis by the BBC.

 Combined with increases to the cost of fuel, this has led to concern that the war could lead to a dramatic spike in global food prices.

 Speaking to the Insider, a senior Iranian diplomatic source pushed back against criticism levelled at Iran during the meeting, blaming disruption and the resulting threat to global food security on US and Israeli aggression, and pointed to the severe impact of US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic’s own food security.

 “These military operations are actively disrupting the production, supply, and distribution networks of agricultural produce, thereby endangering the food security, nutrition, and health of ninety million Iranians” said the source.

 Highlighting the “particularly devastating consequences” faced by Iran's rural communities, the source called on the Rome-based UN agency to undertake an assessment of the damage to Iran's food and agricultural supply chains in coordination with Tehran, and report its findings to other FAO member states.

 The UN’s World Food Program estimates that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could see an additional 45 million people falling into acute hunger in 2026, pushing global hunger levels to an all-time record.

 In a statement, the United Arab Emirates, which has doubled down on its close ties with the US and Israel amid the conflict, said it welcomed the FAO Council’s adoption of the motion.

 “Iran’s escalation and its actions targeting critical civilian infrastructure carry far-reaching consequences that destabilize the region and the world” it said, claiming Tehran’s actions “directly impact markets and the most vulnerable populations globally”.

 The UAE’s statement comes after Iran’s representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Ali Kianirad, warned against member states attempting to use the FAO platform to promote political agendas.

 The Iranian diplomat, who began his comments at the FAO special session by commemorating the 168 schoolgirls killed by a suspected US airstrike in the opening days of the conflict, also accused a number of unnamed FAO member states of hypocrisy during the meeting.

 “While we speak of the right to access to food, which has been invoked by some FAO members to convene this special session of the Council, the right to life and living of schoolchildren in Minab... and of civilians during the recent war in Iran has been taken away”, he said.