Washington circulated a revised United Nations Security Council draft on Friday seeking Iran to stop attacks and the laying of mines in the Strait of Hormuz, yet diplomats said the edits are not expected to prevent vetoes from China and Russia.
The updated text, which was shared with council members on Thursday afternoon and reviewed by diplomats, removed a clause that invoked Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. Chapter VII language, when included, provides the council with the authority to adopt measures ranging from sanctions to military action. Despite that deletion, the resolution retains firm wording directed at Iran and includes a provision that if Iran does not comply, the council would "meet again to consider effective measures ... including sanctions measures, in order to ensure the freedom of navigation in the area."
The draft stops short of explicitly authorizing the use of force but does not exclude it. It also "reaffirms the right of member States ... to defend their vessels from attacks and threats, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms." Diplomats said it was not known when a formal vote on the measure might take place.
Diplomats described an earlier version of the resolution - prepared by the United States in concert with Bahrain and circulated to council members earlier this week - as encountering substantial objections from both China and Russia. A similar resolution previously put forward by the United States last month appeared to create a pathway that could be read as legitimizing U.S. military action against Iran; that text failed after Russia and China used their vetoes in the 15-member Security Council.
One U.N. diplomat noted that dropping the Chapter VII reference - a change also made in last month’s resolution - did not resolve the underlying concerns raised by Chinese and Russian representatives. China's mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the newly circulated draft. The Russian mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the revisions.
Separately, a statement from Russia's mission reiterated its earlier position that Security Council members should avoid "pushing through one-sided and confrontational draft resolutions" that could "trigger a new wave of escalation in the Middle East." The statement added: "It is precisely for this reason that on April 7, Russia, along with China, blocked the adoption of a draft resolution on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz."
The prospect of a Chinese veto carries diplomatic sensitivity given U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned trip to China next week, where the Iran conflict is expected to figure prominently on the agenda. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the proposed resolution as a test of the U.N.'s utility and urged China and Russia not to exercise their vetoes.
Context and next steps
With Chapter VII language removed but restrictive measures and provisions to reconvene still in place, the resolution leaves the Security Council with a tense choice: endorse a text that China and Russia have signaled they oppose, or allow another veto that would sustain the diplomatic deadlock over how to address attacks and mine-laying in a key international waterway.