Bahrain’s Hormuz resolution runs into fresh obstacles at UN

By David Brunnstrom and John Irish

April 1 (Reuters) – Bahrain’s effort to secure a U.N. resolution to authorise “all necessary means” to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz ran into new obstacles on Wednesday, underscoring divisions over how to deal with Iran’s effective closure of the waterway that has resulted in the worst energy-supply disruption ever.

Bahrain, which took over the presidency of the 15-member U.N. Security Council for the month of April, had circulated a fresh version of a draft resolution that dropped a previous explicit reference to binding enforcement, hoping to overcome objections from other nations, particularly Russia and China. 

But a U.N. diplomat said China, Russia and France raised issues with the new draft before it would have gone into final form at noon on Wednesday under a so-called silence procedure – where a resolution is adopted if no member objects. Bahrain’s U.N. ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei told reporters the resolution still required “a lot of work.” 

Major Gulf and Western powers still do not have a concrete plan to reopen the waterway, which has been effectively shut since the conflict began a month ago, sending energy prices soaring. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally transits the crucial strait. 

“There are ongoing communications and discussions with the Council members to bring a convergence of views and find a draft that can garner consensus, so that it can be adopted soon,” Alrowaiei said.

Early in the conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to use naval forces to escort shipping vessels through the strait, and pushed other nations to help secure the route. In recent days, however, he has said the U.S. does not need to be part of that effort, and that others, particularly NATO allies in Europe, should do the work to reopen the strait. 

Shippers stopped using the strait after Iran struck vessels in retaliation against strikes by the United States and Israel that kicked off the war on February 28.

WRANGLING OVER RESOLUTION TEXT

Bahrain’s initial draft, seen by Reuters and backed by other Gulf Arab states and Washington, had explicitly invoked Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorise measures ranging from sanctions to military force. 

Diplomats said adoption of such a resolution would have been unlikely, as Iran’s partners Russia and China were expected to veto it if necessary.

A revised text seen by Reuters removed the Chapter VII reference, but retained strong language effectively authorizing force in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to ensure passage and prevent interference with international navigation, including within or near territorial waters.

The U.N. missions of Russia, France and China did not immediately respond when asked about their issues with the Bahraini draft.

A Security Council resolution requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes from its five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

Diplomats say France has suggested an alternative resolution that would seek a U.N. mandate once the situation had calmed.

Trump escalated his rhetoric against NATO on Wednesday, threatening to pull out of the decades-old alliance because other nations had not joined the Iran war.

On Wednesday, France hit back at Trump’s threats, saying the military alliance was designed to ensure security in the Euro-Atlantic area and not to launch offensive operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

French naval chief Admiral Nicolas Vaujour told a security conference in Paris on Wednesday France was working to bring a number of countries to the table to determine the conditions under which the strait could be reopened in a lasting way.

Vaujour said China at one point will have to engage more directly on how to restore oil traffic in the strait. China is the world’s largest importer of oil through the strait.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alison Williams and David Gaffen)