NYT: France, Russia and China blocked UN Security Council resolution on opening the Strait of Hormuz by force

Russia, China and France on Thursday, April 2, thwarted an attempt to pass a resolution in the UN Security Council authorizing military action to open the Strait of Hormuz.

This is reported by The New York Times, citing a diplomat and a senior UN official.

According to the publication, the resolution was drafted by Bahrain with the support of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The vote on it is scheduled for Friday, April 3. However, it remains unclear whether Russia, China and France will be able to participate.

These three countries are permanent members of the Security Council and have veto power. Russia, China and France oppose any wording that allows the use of military force.

According to diplomats, disagreements over the resolution also arose among the ten non-permanent members.

The draft document, now in its fourth draft after weeks of closed-door negotiations, is in the process of being drafted. A controversial part of the text states that the Security Council authorizes member states to use all necessary means to secure passage and prevent attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Experts say Bahrainʼs initiative is more symbolic than pragmatic, as most Gulf states have relatively small armed forces compared to Iranʼs. But in any case, for Iran, uniting its Arab neighbors against it in the UN Security Council is a serious and perhaps irreparable deterioration in relations it has been trying to repair for years.

• On April 3, the United Kingdom organized an international meeting with the participation of 35 nations to discuss ways to restore the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas supplies, which Iran effectively blocked after the US and Israeli attacks began.
• Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that NATO faces a “very bad future” if the Alliance countries do not help the US unblock the strait. He then made a similar request to the UK, France, China, Japan and South Korea.
• At the time, The Telegraph wrote that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused Trump. France, Germany and South Korea also did not agree. Reuters wrote that Japan and Australia also rejected the idea.
• On March 30, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, wrote that the UAE is ready to join a military operation with the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz by force. Emirati diplomats are also calling on the United States, European and Asian countries to create a coalition to open the strait.

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