Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council that called for countries to cooperate in taking defensive action to open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks.
The move effectively blocked U.N. authorization for the use of military force to address the maritime crisis.
The resolution received 11 votes in favor, two votes against and two abstentions. China and Russia, both permanent members of the Council with veto powers, shot it down. Pakistan, which has been mediating between Iran and the U.S., abstained.
The vote came just a few hours before President Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to reopen the strait, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. Mr. Trump had warned on Tuesday morning that “a whole civilization will be wiped out” if a deal was not reached.
Bahrain, with the support of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and the United States, had drafted and put forth the resolution after weeks of diplomatic negotiations. The text of the resolution went through at least five revisions and the language was watered down — from authorizing offensive military force to allowing only defensive actions to open the strait.
“Failing to adopt this resolution sends the wrong signal to the world, a signal that the threat to international waters can pass without any decisive action by the international organization responsible for maintenance of international peace and security,” said Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Bahrain, the only Arab member of the Council, is presiding over the Council this month.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., condemned the rejection of the resolution, saying Bahrain’s request was not unreasonable given the economic and security upheaval caused by Iran’s actions. “It was a simple resolution: Iran must stop attacking the Gulf, stop threatening its neighbors, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr. Waltz said.
Russia and China said the resolution failed to state that the crisis was a result of U.S. and Israeli aggression against Iran, instead placing all of the blame on Iran. The Strait of Hormuz was open before Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Russia and China also said they opposed setting a “dangerous” legal precedent for resorting to force to settle disputes in the sea.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., to the Council, said each paragraph of the proposed resolution contained “unbalanced, inaccurate and confrontational elements.” The resolution, he said, played into the hands of Mr. Trump’s threatening rhetoric against Iran.
China’s ambassador to the U.N., Fu Cong, said that passing the resolution at a time when the United States is threatening the very survival of a civilization “would send the wrong message and have serious — very serious — consequences.”
Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir-Saeid Iravani, told the Council that his country’s actions “cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader context of ongoing aggression against its territory and sovereignty.”
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization. She also covers Iran and has written about conflict in the Middle East for 15 years.
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