The United Nations warned Tuesday that the Middle East conflict could severely impact some of the world’s most vulnerable populations due to a standstill in the Strait of Hormuz.

This crucial waterway, the sole sea route from the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, carries nearly a quarter of global seaborne oil and a substantial volume of cargo.

Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz after joint U.S.‑Israeli airstrikes on its territory on February 28 triggered a broader war, issuing warnings and military threats that have brought most commercial shipping to a halt

“Higher energy, fertilizer and transport costs — including freight rates, bunker fuel prices and insurance premiums — may increase food costs and intensify cost-of-living pressures, particularly for the most vulnerable,” it said.

UNCTAD stated that in the week before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz handled 38 per cent of seaborne crude oil, 29 per cent of liquefied petroleum gas, 19 per cent of liquefied natural gas, and 19 per cent of refined oil products.

From February 1 to 27, an average of 129 ships transited the Strait daily, but by March 3, that number had fallen to only three.

UNCTAD warned that such disruptions reveal the fragility of critical maritime chokepoints and their potential to trigger shocks in global supply chains and commodity markets.

“Rising energy, transport and food costs could strain public finances and increase pressure on household budgets, potentially heightening economic and social pressures… particularly in economies heavily dependent on imported energy, fertilizers and staple foods,” it said.

UN rights chief Volker Turk also sounded the alarm, warning that the sharp drop in commercial shipping could hit “particularly the world’s most vulnerable.”

“The impact of an oil price surge will have a knock-on effect for macro-economic and social stability in many countries, particularly those already experiencing debt distress,” he said.

The UN’s World Food Program added that delays and higher costs from the Strait of Hormuz disruptions were already affecting its humanitarian operations.

“This is nothing less than another seminal moment in global supply chain history,” Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of WFP’s food and nutrition analysis service, told reporters in Geneva.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it had struck and destroyed 16 Iranian vessels thought to be laying mines near the Strait of Hormuz, following President Trump’s warning to Tehran not to place any mines in the crucial shipping lane.