Bahrain has distributed a reworked draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council that seeks to protect commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters. The updated text removes an explicit reference to binding enforcement yet preserves language authorizing "all necessary means" to ensure safe passage.
The waterway, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies flow and which supports Gulf economies, has seen traffic drop to a near-halt after Iran struck vessels amid its conflict with the United States and Israel. The security and continuity of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz have therefore become focal points for regional and international concern.
Bahrain's original draft, which was supported by other Gulf Arab states and Washington, explicitly cited Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. Chapter VII authorizes the Security Council to adopt measures ranging from sanctions to military action. Diplomats said that a resolution invoking Chapter VII would likely have faced rejection in the council because Russia and China, allies of Iran, were expected to exercise their vetoes if necessary.
Under U.N. procedures, a Security Council resolution requires at least nine affirmative votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. The revised draft seen by diplomats removes the direct Chapter VII reference but retains language commonly associated with that chapter.
Specifically, the amended text would authorize states, operating individually or through voluntary multinational naval coalitions, to employ "all necessary means commensurate with the circumstances" in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to safeguard passage and prevent interference with international navigation. That authorization would apply even within or near territorial waters, according to the draft.
The draft also urges states that depend on commercial maritime routes through the strait to coordinate defensive actions, including the escort of merchant vessels. Diplomats said there was a tentative plan to bring the text to a vote on Thursday.
This revised draft reflects a diplomatic effort to balance strong language on protecting navigation with the political realities in the Security Council, while seeking to address the disruption to shipping that has followed attacks on vessels in the region.