UN resolution on ‘coordinated efforts’ to reopen Strait of Hormuz fails

Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have encouraged countries to coordinate defensive efforts on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, amid concerns that it would have tacitly condoned military action in the waterway.

The resolution garnered 11 votes in favour, but failed because Russia and China – as permanent veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council – were opposed.

Read:
Trump ramps up threats to ‘take out’ Iran before Tuesday deadline
Trump insists on Hormuz opening
Oil rises a third day as Trump threats escalate before deadline
Trump reiterates threat to destroy Iran as deadline nears
Brace for impact: What happens if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait closes?

The vote followed days of negotiations and pressure from a number of Gulf countries to restore free passage in the strait.

The document, put forward by Bahrain, would have encouraged countries to “coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances,” to ensure security of navigation through the strait.

The vote came about eight hours before US President Donald Trump’s 8pm deadline on Tuesday [2am on Wednesday in South Africa] for Iran to reopen the strait.

Trump has threatened to order airstrikes on the country’s civilian infrastructure if Tehran fails to comply.

Speaking to the council just after the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz – who supported the motion – threatened Iran and referred to the hostage crisis of 1979 by saying “the Iranian regime’s first act was to take dozens of Americans hostage”.

“Now, it’s taking the Strait of Hormuz hostage – and with it, attempting to take the world’s economy hostage,” Waltz said.

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTINUE READING BELOW

“Well, colleagues, that may be its last act. We’ll see.”

For and against

Global energy prices have soared since threats of Iranian retaliation effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz in late February following the US and Israeli strikes that opened the current war against Tehran. The route normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports.

Trump has repeatedly demanded the strait be reopened as part of talks to end the now six-week-long conflict.

Ahead of the Tuesday evening deadline, Trump wrote on social media that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran didn’t capitulate.

Amid the threats, Iran has tightened its grip, imposed a fee system on the waterway and continued to attack the energy infrastructure in nearby Gulf nations.

Russia, which is allied with Iran, expressed its disapproval with the resolution on Friday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying it would disrupt “very fragile chances for negotiations”.

‘Carte blanche’ for aggression

At the Security Council session on Tuesday, Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, echoed those remarks.

ADVERTISEMENT:

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Nebenzya said the vetoed resolution would have set a dangerous precedent and granted “carte blanche” for continued aggression and escalation in Iran.

“What this would imply, from the legal standpoint as well as the implications for the situation on the ground, is clear to us,” he said.

“Especially at a time when we hear statements from the US president about the readiness to destroy Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened.”

The resolution was initially intended to authorise the use of force in order to help reopen the strait, but Bahrain watered down some of its language in an effort to head off possible vetoes.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have considered joining the US and Israeli war as Iran continues to strike major energy facilities and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, Bloomberg has previously reported.

Last week, the UAE called on the UN to authorise a range of measures – including force – to reopen the strait.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres argued for freedom of navigation last week, telling reporters that “when the Strait of Hormuz is strangled, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable cannot breathe”.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

#resolution #coordinated #efforts #reopen #Strait #Hormuz #fails