Russia and China have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after repeated efforts to water down the proposal in the hope that the two countries would abstain
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in July 2024(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia and China have blocked a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz – just hours before US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the vital shipping route.
The Bahrain-sponsored resolution failed after receiving 11 votes in favour, with two abstentions and two votes against by Russia and China. Both countries hold veto power on the council.
The vote took place ahead of the Tuesday 8pm ET (1am BST Wednesday) deadline set by Trump for Iran to reopen the strait or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. He warned on Tuesday that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Tehran does not comply.
One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.
The proposal had been repeatedly watered down in the hope that Russia and China would abstain. An initial draft would have authorised countries to use “all necessary means” – UN wording that can include military action – to ensure transit through the strait and deter attempts to close it.
After Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding countries on the 15-member Security Council, expressed opposition to approving the use of force, the resolution was revised to remove references to offensive action. It instead authorised only “all defensive means necessary”.
A vote had initially been expected on Saturday, but the resolution was further weakened to eliminate any reference to Security Council authorisation – effectively an order for action – and to limit its provisions to the Strait of Hormuz.
The resolution vetoed on Tuesday “strongly encourages states interested in the use of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate with the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz”.
This includes escorting merchant and commercial vessels, and deterring attempts to close, obstruct or interfere with international navigation through the strait, it said.
The resolution also demanded that Iran immediately halt attacks on merchant and commercial vessels, stop impeding their freedom of navigation through the stait, and cease attacking civilian infrastructure.
In retaliation for US and Israeli attacks that began on February 28, Iran has targeted hotels, airports, residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in more than 10 countries, including its Gulf neighbours.
Iran’s blockade of the strait is seen by Gulf states as an existential threat. Bahrain – which hosts the US Fifth Fleet and currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council – has been pressing for UN action.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began. At least 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and 23 have been killed in Israel since March 2.
Thirteen US service members have been killed in the war, and two more have died of non-combat causes. More than two dozen people have been killed in Gulf countries and the occupied West Bank.
