Iran on Friday cautioned the UN Security Council against taking any “provocative action” ahead of a vote on a draft resolution creating a force to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. It said such an action will only complicate the situation.
“Any provocative action by the aggressors and their supporters, including in the UN Security Council regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, will only complicate the situation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
The proposal comes amid rising tensions over maritime security amid the conflict in West Asia, which has seen severe disruption in energy trade due to the virtual blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy trade.
All about UNSC vote on Hormuz
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution proposed by Bahrain that seeks to authorize member states to use “all defensive means necessary” to ensure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Foreign Minister of Bahrain, during his remarks at the UNSC meeting on Thursday, “The Kingdom of Bahrain submitted a draft resolution to your esteemed council on Iran’s unlawful and unjustified attempt to control international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, placing before the council a draft that requires a decisive response to such actions that are irresponsible and illegitimate. Actions that threaten the interests of nations and peoples around the world.”
Bahrain, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council.
According to Al Jazeera, the draft resolution has undergone four revisions after Russia and China opposed language that explicitly called for the use of force to reopen the strategic waterway.
The vote was initially scheduled to happen on Friday but later is was postponed as United Nations observes Good Friday as a public holiday. Now, the vote is likely to take place on Saturday, sources close to the development informed AP.
This development comes as diplomatic engagements between Washington and Tehran continue amid the conflict in West Asia, following US-Israel joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, which led to the death of 86-year-old Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after which Tehran, in retaliation, targeted Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries, causing disruption in the waterways and affecting international energy markets and global economic stability.
Following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed as Iran’s new supreme leader by the country’s Assembly of Experts.
