LONDON - International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said on Monday that additional restrictive measures will not help resolve the ongoing crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that de-escalation is key to restoring normal shipping operations.

Responding to a question from Xinhua on whether the US blockade will complicate IMO's efforts to evacuate seafarers and vessels, Dominguez said the current situation "doesn't make it any easier."

"De-escalation is what is going to start helping us to address the crisis and to bring shipping back to the way that we used to operate. Additional restrictive measures do not really help us," he said.

Dominguez emphasized that the only way to restore navigation through the vital waterway is to stop the conflict.

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Dominguez also noted that he will continue to maintain dialogue within the IMO and engage with all countries, stressing that raising awareness of the broader negative impacts of the crisis will help mobilize greater international efforts to address the situation.

Dominguez said that countries have no right to blockade international straits used for international transit.

"From a legal perspective, in accordance with international law, there is no right to prohibit the right of innocent passage, nor to impede the freedom of navigation through international straits used for international transit," he said.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the US Navy would begin blocking ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, after peace talks with Iran failed to produce a deal. The blockade of Iranian ports took effect earlier on Monday as Trump threatened to destroy Iranian "fast attack ships."

In return, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Monday blamed the US maximalist demands and naval blockade threats for the two countries' failure to reach an agreement in their recent peace talks in Pakistan.