Overview
- The Security Council on Tuesday rejected Bahrain’s draft after vetoes by Russia and China, with 11 members in favor and Pakistan and Colombia abstaining.
- The vote came hours before President Donald Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants and bridges.
- Negotiations had stripped the text of any authorization to use force, limiting it to urging defensive coordination such as naval escorts and demanding Iran halt attacks on ships and civilian infrastructure.
- Bahrain led the effort with Gulf partners and Jordan, while Moscow and Beijing said the measure was unbalanced and failed to address U.S. and Israeli actions that preceded Iran’s response.
- With roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil normally moving through the strait and prices already rising, the failure leaves states to weigh ad hoc escorts or coalitions after a March Council resolution only condemned Iran’s attacks.