Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned a prolonged war in the Middle East threatens the Suez Canal, the country's key economic lifeline.
Three major container shipping companies have halted passage this week through two of the region's vital waterways as US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation disrupt global maritime traffic.
"We are very cautious about the continuation of the war because of developments... in the Strait of Hormuz and its impact... on navigation in the Suez Canal," Sisi said in a speech broadcast on state television late Sunday.
He said Egypt had "suffered from this issue for the past two years", causing "very large financial losses".
MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM stopped operations in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, next to Iran, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Many ships are now re-routing around the Cape of Good Hope off the tip of southern Africa, bypassing the region's vital waterways.
Sisi previously said the canal's revenues plunged 60 percent in 2024, a loss of $7 billion.
Traffic through the waterway had begun to recover in recent months from Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most strategic waterways, carrying nearly a quarter of global seaborne oil and a significant volume of cargo to and from Gulf ports.
The Suez Canal is the region's other major artery, linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and is a crucial shortcut between Europe and Asia.
FP/MI
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