LONDON, March 19. /TASS/. The Council of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of ships in the Persian Gulf, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez announced while closing the Council’s extraordinary session.

"One specific decision you have made is of particular operational importance in demonstrating that all our statements related to how much we value seafarers. I refer to the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate ships in the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Dominguez stressed that he is ready to immediately begin negotiations on the establishment of the humanitarian corridor. But he noted that implementation of this initiative requires understanding, commitment and concrete action from all relevant countries, as well as industry representatives and relevant UN agencies.

On March 18-19, the IMO Council held an extraordinary session dedicated to the situation in the Middle East at the organization's headquarters in London. The IMO Council is the organization's executive body. It consists of 40 states elected by the IMO Assembly.

On February 28, the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were hit. The White House justified the attack by citing missile and nuclear threats allegedly emanating from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, attacking Israel. Targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.

On March 2, Major General Ebrahim Jabari of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite unit of the Iranian Armed Forces) warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil exports passes, would be closed to shipping due to Israeli and US military action against Iran. On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the strait was not closed, and that ships and tankers were not attempting to cross it for fear of attacks from both sides.