During a UN Security Council meeting, Russia and China used their veto power against a draft resolution submitted by Bahrain aimed at resuming and protecting commercial navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to what Reuters reported.
The document calls on countries interested in using the Strait of Hormuz to “coordinate defensive efforts appropriate to the circumstances” for the safety and security of commercial shipping along this route.
These efforts, according to the text of the resolution, mean escorting commercial ships, as well as “deterring attempts to close, obstruct, or interfere in any other way with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Initially, Reuters wrote, Bahrain, which had the support of other Gulf states and Washington in these efforts, submitted a draft resolution on April 2 that would authorize “all necessary defensive measures” to protect commercial shipping.
China opposed the resolution authorizing the use of force. According to Beijing, this version could “legitimize the illegal and indiscriminate use of force, which will inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and entail serious consequences.”
The resolution was supposed to be voted on on April 3, but it was postponed. Document text, write news agencyIt was watered down several times to persuade Moscow and Beijing to at least abstain from voting.
Adoption of the document requires at least nine supportive votes and no veto power from the five permanent members of the Council: Great Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.
As a result, at the April 7 meeting, 11 countries – members of the Security Council – spoke in support of the new version of the resolution, Russia and China voted against it, and two other countries – Pakistan and Colombia – Abstain from voting.
Before the US and Israeli war with Iran began in late February, about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. After the outbreak of hostilities, Tehran effectively closed the strait, causing global energy prices to rise sharply.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to give Iran “hell” and “a return to the Stone Age” and to strike Iranian energy facilities if Tehran does not end the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump on April 7 threatened to “destroy an entire civilization” on the night of April 8 — when his ultimatum to Iran expires.