UN Security Council to vote on Hormuz resolution ahead of Trump deadline

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a Bahrain-drafted resolution on the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, just hours before US President Donald Trump’s self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic waterway, diplomats said.

The draft text, backed by Bahrain with support from Gulf Arab states and the United States, urges countries using the vital shipping route to coordinate defensive measures to ensure safe navigation and calls on Iran to cease attacks on commercial vessels and civilian infrastructure.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes, has been effectively disrupted amid a widening conflict involving US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets and retaliatory actions by Tehran.

Earlier drafts that included language authorizing the use of force were watered down after opposition from China and Russia, diplomats said, in a bid to secure enough votes and avoid vetoes by permanent members.

The resolution requires at least nine affirmative votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members to pass. China and Russia have warned that even defensive language could be seen as legitimizing force against Iran.

The vote comes as global energy markets remain on edge, with oil prices elevated amid ongoing disruptions to shipping through the narrow Persian Gulf passage.