❓WHAT HAPPENED: A United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution on opening the Strait of Hormuz failed after Russia and China vetoed it.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Bahrain, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, Russia, China, and the United States.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday, at the United Nations Security Council.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Security Council must take measures to ensure the protection of waterways, and we demand that the Security Council issue a resolution securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” – Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
🎯IMPACT: The veto by Russia and China blocks international military action to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
A United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution brought by Bahrain calling for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the free flow of shipping and energy commerce through the critical waterway was blocked by Russia and China on Tuesday. The resolution would have authorized the use of military force under an international coalition to reopen the strait, which has been effectively closed due to skyrocketing shipping insurance rates after the Islamic Republic of Iran began targeting vessels attempting to traverse the waterway.
Notably, the resolution saw significant support from Security Council members, receiving 11 votes in favor. However, two of the five permanent members of the Security Council, Russia and China, exercised their veto power, blocking the resolution’s adoption. Several Gulf nations have, for weeks, been pushing for UN action, citing the repeated Iranian attacks on oil tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and across the broader Persian Gulf.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), stated earlier in the week, “Our countries are subjected to a sinful Iranian aggression, and GCC countries have a legitimate right to self-defense. The Security Council must take measures to ensure the protection of waterways, and we demand that the Security Council issue a resolution securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Russia and China, however, expressed concerns that the resolution invoked Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which could be interpreted as legitimizing the use of force without clear limits. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued that the measure would disrupt “very fragile chances for negotiations” and escalate tensions in the region. In March, Iranian officials claimed that both Russia and China were providing military “cooperation” to the Islamic Republic in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes.
The National Pulse reported earlier on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald J. Trump issued a stern warning to Iran, stating that its “whole civilization will die tonight” if it fails to accept a ceasefire deal.
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