By David Brunnstrom
March 25 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday named veteran U.N. diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to support efforts to end the Middle East conflict, saying the "world is staring down the barrel of a wider war."
Guterres told reporters that he had been in close contact with many in the region and around the world and that a number of initiatives for dialogue and peace were underway.
He said these must succeed and warned that prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz was choking movement of oil, gas, and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global food planting season.
"It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder," he said at the U.N. in New York.
Guterres said UN mediators have offered their services and Arnault would do "everything possible" to support peace efforts.
The UN says Arnault has more than 30 years' experience in international diplomacy focusing on peace settlements and mediation, with a background in UN missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
His most recent assignment was in 2021 as Guterres' personal envoy on Afghanistan and regional issues.
Disrupted fertilizer shipments and soaring energy prices are threatening to unleash a fresh food-price surge across vulnerable nations, risking a years-long setback just as many were recovering from successive global shocks, UN and other experts warn.
An analysis released by the UN World Food Programme last week warned that tens of millions more people will face acute hunger if the Iran war continues through to June.
Guterres said Gulf countries are important suppliers of raw materials for nitrogen fertilizers crucial for developing countries.
"Without fertilizers today, we might have hunger tomorrow," he said.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Chizu Nomiyama)
