UN chief António Guterres has acknowledged that he is cooperating “actively” with Trump’s rival Board of Peace in Gaza — even though Guterres brands the board “a personal project” of the US president, Politico reports.

In an exclusive interview with Politico this week, Guterres said he welcomed the Board’s aim of funding and delivering the basics of a Gaza reconstruction plan to rebuild Palestinian homes and infrastructure.

The Guterres “forcefully defended the role of the UN in conflicts like the crisis in the Hormuz Strait, suggesting that his organisation could be part of a plan to de-escalate attacks and retaliatory strikes and protect the crucial waterway”, Politico stated.

“My main objective is to see if it is possible to create conditions in the Strait of Hormuz similar to what [existed] in the past,” he said, noting that the UN is in contact with key actors in the Gulf as well as the European Council.

“Of course, it’s a different context,” he said. “We have task forces created to be able to do it. But we prefer to work directly with the US and other states.”

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