The United States and a group of Gulf Arab states are preparing a new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed squarely at Iran's recent efforts to obstruct passage through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Monday.
Waltz said the United States is co-drafting the resolution with Bahrain and has incorporated input from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Negotiations on the text are expected to take place this week, he said.
The move follows a failed attempt last month to pass a broader resolution intended to restore freedom of navigation; that earlier measure was blocked by permanent council members Russia and China. The new proposal is narrower in scope, Waltz said, and is being advanced while a ceasefire with Iran is in place.
According to Waltz, the draft resolution would require Iran to stop attacks on merchant shipping and to desist from attempts to levy tolls on vessels transiting the strait. The measure would also demand that Iran cease placing sea mines in the waterway and disclose the locations of any mines that have been laid.
Waltz described the draft as a "narrower effort" than the prior failed text. He said the focus on mining of international waterways and on tolling is intended to address disruptions that affect "all of the economies of the world," singling out Asian economies as among those particularly impacted.
The initiative reflects a concerted diplomatic push by the United States together with several Gulf partners to concentrate Security Council attention on specific maritime security risks, rather than pursuing a broader resolution that faced opposition. With talks scheduled this week, the text and its prospects for adoption will depend on the course of negotiations among council members.
Key details at a glance
- The United States is co-drafting the resolution with Bahrain, with input from Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
- The draft seeks to require Iran to stop attacking merchant shipping, to stop imposing tolls on passage, and to stop laying sea mines and disclose their locations.
- Negotiations on the resolution are planned this week; a prior, broader resolution was blocked last month by Russia and China.