US envoy tells UN Trump’s patience with Iran ‘not unlimited’

US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz warned Thursday that President Donald Trump’s patience with Iran was “not unlimited,” as he accused Tehran of holding the world economy hostage by disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran cannot, and we cannot allow it to, hold the world’s economy hostage,” Waltz told an emergency UN Security Council meeting on escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf after recent Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.

Waltz said Iran had stopped ships from transiting the Strait of Hormuz regardless of whether they were carrying “fertilizers to farmers in Africa, aid to Sudan, fuel to Japan” or were involved in the conflict.

He said Iran must stop attacks on its neighbors and keep the international waterway open, adding that the UN Trade and Development agency had found Iran’s closure of the Strait would have lasting effects on 61 developing economies.

Despite diplomatic efforts, including a memorandum of understanding signed two weeks ago, Iran had not shown “a basic level of decency and respect,” Waltz said.

“I cannot stress enough the possibility of real transformative positive opportunity for the nation and people of Iran is on the table,” he said, adding: “But President Trump’s patience is not unlimited.”