Bahrain, the current council president, finalized a draft Thursday authorizing “all defensive means necessary” to safeguard vessels in the strategic chokepoint for at least six months and until the council decides otherwise. The Strait, through which roughly a fifth of global seaborne oil passes, has been largely shut to normal traffic since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in late February, sparking a month‑long conflict that has driven up oil prices and strained regional security.
China has made clear its opposition to any authorization of force, with its U.N. envoy Fu Cong warning that such a move would “legitimize the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force” and risk deepening the war. Russia and some non‑permanent members have also pressed to dilute the resolution, prompting Bahrain to soften earlier language on binding enforcement. The latest draft was placed under the council’s “silence procedure,” which was broken by China, France and Russia, but a final text has since been agreed and “put in blue,” meaning it can go to a vote.
The resolution needs at least nine votes and no veto from the five permanent members—Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S.—to pass. With China and Russia wary of militarized language, Bahrain and its Gulf and Western allies are trying to strike a narrow balance between deterrence and restraint.
Meanwhile, Britain hosted a meeting with more than 40 countries to discuss a coalition to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling broad support for Bahrain’s push. If adopted, the resolution could become a key legal and political tool to reopen the vital waterway and curb escalation in one of the world’s most volatile flashpoints.
