The United States on Thursday pressed members of the United Nations Security Council to back a new resolution demanding Iran halt attacks and mining operations in the Strait of Hormuz, even as diplomats warned China and Russia were likely to veto the measure amid escalating tensions tied to the regional conflict.
Reuters reported the draft resolution, backed by Bahrain and supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, condemns Iran’s alleged violations of the current ceasefire and demands Tehran stop attacks threatening freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway, disclose the locations of naval mines, and avoid interfering with clearance operations.
The push comes after Russia and China last month vetoed a separate US-backed resolution that critics said could have opened the door to legitimizing military action against Iran through the Security Council.
Standing alongside Gulf Arab envoys at the United Nations, US Ambassador Mike Waltz said countries opposing the new measure would be “setting a very, very dangerous precedent,” according to Reuters.
“We have to ask ourselves, if a country chooses to oppose such a simple proposition, do they really want peace?” Waltz said.
The Strait of Hormuz has become the central flashpoint in the broader Iran conflict, with Tehran accused of threatening global oil shipments and disrupting maritime traffic through the narrow channel that carries a major share of the world’s energy supplies.
President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly framed the standoff as a test of whether the United Nations can respond forcefully to threats against international shipping and regional stability.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called the proposed resolution “a test of the utility of the United Nations” and urged China and Russia not to block it, Reuters reported.
The renewed diplomatic push also comes as Trump said Wednesday that Iran had agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons “among other things,” while administration officials indicated Tehran was prepared to turn over enriched uranium that Western governments fear could eventually be used in a nuclear weapons program.
Reuters separately reported US and Iranian officials were moving closer to a temporary arrangement aimed at freezing active fighting while leaving several long-term disputes unresolved.
Diplomats told Reuters the latest draft encountered strong resistance from both Moscow and Beijing during closed-door Security Council discussions earlier this week.
One diplomat told Reuters that Russia demanded the text either be withdrawn or substantially rewritten, while China argued the resolution was biased and objected to its invocation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which authorizes measures ranging from sanctions to military action.
A Chinese veto could complicate Trump’s planned trip to China next week, where the Iran conflict, maritime security, and Tehran’s nuclear activities are expected to feature prominently in discussions between Washington and Beijing.
Bahrain’s UN envoy, Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, said his country hoped to continue “working constructively with all council members in the days ahead to finalize this text,” according to Reuters.
Reuters reported sources familiar with the ongoing talks said Tehran was reviewing a proposal that could pause the conflict without fully resolving broader disagreements over Iran’s regional military posture and future nuclear capabilities.
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