Russia and China Veto a Proposed UN Resolution on Freedom of Navigation at the Hormuz Strait

Russia and Communist China blocked a Bahraini-proposed, American-backed resolution at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, which was meant to ensure “safety and security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”The two allies of the Islamic Republic used their veto power in the Tuesday vote even after the proposal was watered down significantly due to the efforts of France. Out of the council’s 15 countries, 11 members voted in favor of the proposal, while Pakistan and Colombia abstained. Pakistan, a Sunni-majority country, has positioned itself as a mediator between the Islamic Republic and America. Its abstention might carry favors with Tehran, but could anger Washington. Beijing and Moscow, which have failed to give significant military support to their allied Iranian regime, instead flexed their diplomatic muscle in a dysfunctional UN council on behalf of Tehran. No one should tolerate the closure of the Hormuz Strait, the American ambassador at the UN, Mike Waltz, told the council after the vote. “But today, Russia and China did tolerate it, they sided with a regime that seeks to intimidate the Gulf into submission, even as it brutalizes its own people during a national internet blackout for daring to imagine dignity or freedom.”The original Bahraini text was supported by the Gulf states which are withstanding endless Iranian attacks. For the first time in decades it evoked the UN Charter Chapter 7, which authorizes action by all means possible, including the use of force.France, hoping to prevent a Russian or Chinese veto, immediately started negotiating with Manama to weaken the language. In the negotiations, Chapter 7 was quickly erased from the proposal. Several other statements that indicated a unified action to stop the Islamic Republic from blocking the vital strait were fudged as well.The vote, originally scheduled for last week, was delayed several times. Negotiations meant to prevent a veto of the proposal continued until the last minute, and the council session on Tuesday was held up for half an hour before the vote finally ensued. In its final form, the proposal “strongly” encouraged countries that are “concerned with using commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate efforts—of a defensive nature and proportionate to the circumstances—to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, including through escorting commercial vessels and cargo ships, and to deter any attempts to close international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz or to obstruct or interfere with it in any other way.”Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani of Bahrain, which holds the Security Council’s presidency for April, expressed disappointment at the council’s failure to pass the resolution. “The Arab Gulf is not far from your countries, not in geography or economy,” he said.The Gulf, which is threatened by Iran’s closure of Hormuz “is in the heart of your stability and prosperity,” Mr. Al Zayani added. The Gulf’s “security is your security, and the Gulf countries are not only providing the energy supplies which move the world’s economy, they contribute to the stability of the markets, and they support the supply chains, and they are a reliable investment and commercial partner.”

Russia and China Veto a Proposed UN Resolution on Freedom of Navigation at the Hormuz Strait

Russia and China Veto a Proposed UN Resolution on Freedom of Navigation at the Hormuz Strait

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