Yvette Cooper to warn world ‘sleepwalking into food crisis’ over Iran conflict upheaval

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to warn the world is "sleepwalking into a global food crisis" following the upheaval driven by the Iran conflict.

Ms Cooper will sound the alarm over the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, pointing out the crisis has disrupted the worldwide distribution of fertilisers.

As a result, some 45 million people are at risk of falling into acute food insecurity if the war is not resolved by the middle of the year.

Ms Cooper will advise the reopening of the strait to dodge the looming crisis to allow fertiliser through the key maritime passageway.

The Foreign Secretary will say: "We cannot risk tens of millions of people going hungry because one country has hijacked an international shipping lane.

"Iran's continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz while the agriculture clock is ticking shows why we need urgent global pressure to get the strait reopened, fertiliser and fuel moving and ease the cost of living pressures."

Tehran blockaded the waterway, which runs between the Islamic Republic and the Arabian peninsula, after the US and Iran conducted aerial bombing raids against Iran.

The closure sent global oil prices surging – and now poses a threat to Britain's food security.

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