The chief executive of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has called on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz “unconditionally” without any “strings attached”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Iran has made clear – through both its statements and actions – that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage. That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion,” said Sultan Al Jaber in a post on LinkedIn.

The strait was not built, engineered, financed or constructed by any state, he added.

“It is a natural passage governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees transit as a matter of right; not a privilege to be granted, withheld or weaponised,” he asserted.

“The strait must be open – fully, unconditionally and without restriction. Energy security and global economic stability depend on it. The weaponisation of this vital waterway, in any form, cannot stand.”