Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use, in the words of the text, “all necessary means” to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The diplomatic phrase is widely understood as authorisation for the use of force. 

 

Diplomats said the resolution, which is backed by other Gulf Arab states and the United States, would be placed under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorise actions ranging from sanctions to military force. According to Reuters, two European and one Western diplomat said there was little prospect of the resolution being adopted, as Iran’s allies Russia and China, hold veto power on the 15-member body. A resolution requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes from any of the five permanent members – Russia, China, the United States, Britain, and France – to pass.

 

France has circulated a separate, more conciliatory draft resolution that makes no mention of Iran, though details of its specific provisions remain limited. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he supports a UN framework for any action in the Strait but has refused to take part in immediate operations to secure the waterway, insisting that international efforts could only proceed once hostilities calm and with Iran’s consent.

 

The push for a Security Council resolution underscores mounting concern that Iran could continue to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that carries roughly a fifth of global oil supplies and is critical to Gulf economies. Shipping through the waterway has ground to a near-halt since Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel escalated. Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and has only one maritime route to the open ocean, through the Strait of Hormuz, has been among the most directly exposed countries in the conflict.