Russia and China Veto UN Resolution Intended to Reopen Strait of Hormuz, Hours Before Trump’s Deadline

(SeaPRwire) –   On Tuesday, Russia and China cast vetoes against a U.N. Security Council resolution intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—only hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to stop threatening this critical waterway. 

Trump set an 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran on Tuesday: either reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants and bridges. The resolution received 11 votes in favor, two against, and abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia. 

“No one should tolerate a regime holding the global economy at gunpoint, yet today Russia and China did just that,” U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said Tuesday. “They aligned with a government that seeks to intimidate the Gulf into submission—even as it brutalizes its own people during a national internet blackout, simply for daring to dream of dignity or freedom.”

“Failing to pass this resolution sends the wrong message to the world and its people: that threats to international waterways can go unaddressed without any decisive action from the international body responsible for maintaining global peace and security,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani added following the vote. 

The vetoed resolution, proposed by Bahrain, “strongly encourages countries interested in using commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate defensive efforts appropriate to the circumstances, to help ensure the safety and security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The resolution also demanded that Iran immediately halt attacks on merchant and commercial vessels, stop impeding their freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and cease targeting civilian infrastructure. 

According to The Associated Press, the resolution’s language was significantly watered down in an attempt to get Russia and China to abstain rather than veto it. 

The initial Gulf proposal would have authorized nations to use “all necessary means”—U.N. terminology that includes military action—to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close it.

After Russia, China, and France—all veto-wielding members of the 15-member Security Council—opposed approving the use of force, the resolution was revised to remove all references to offensive action. It would then have only authorized “all necessary defensive means.” A vote had been expected on Saturday. 

Instead, the resolution was further weakened to eliminate any mention of Security Council authorization (an order for action) and restrict its provisions to the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier drafts had included adjacent waters. 

“Let me be clear—this text would only embolden the United States and the Israeli regime to continue their unlawful actions and atrocious crimes, while shielding them from accountability,” Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said following the vote.

“The Iranian regime has until 8 p.m. Eastern Time to seize the moment and make a deal with the United States,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told on Tuesday. “Only the president knows where things stand and what he will do.” 

’ Patrick Ward, Anders Hagstrom and