UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.
Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on a proposal to secure the Strait of Hormuz after it was significantly watered down in the face of opposition from China and Russia about allowing force to reopen the critical waterway that Iran has largely cut off to global shipping.
The final draft of Bahrain’s resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, authorizes the use of defensive — but not offensive — action to ensure vessels can safely transit the strait.
One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the waterway where Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.
Bahrain’s initial draft resolution would have allowed countries “to use all necessary means” — U.N.
language that would include possible military action — “in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman” to secure passage and deter attempts to interfere with navigation.
Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding countries of the 15-member Security Council, had expressed opposition to approving the use of force.
The final draft eliminates any reference to allowing offensive military action, but the three countries’ views on the changes are not known, so Friday’s vote will be closely watched.
The proposal now authorizes countries “to use all defensive means necessary and commensurate with the circumstances in the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters” to secure passage and deter attempts to interfere with international navigation “for a period of at least six months.” It says countries....
