Gulf states seek UN mandate for force to protect Hormuz

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UNITED STATES - The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called Thursday for the UN Security Council to authorize the use of force to protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks.

Iran has placed a stranglehold on the key shipping lane -- threatening fuel supplies and roiling the global economy -- in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that triggered the month-old Middle East war.

“Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, prevented commercial vessels and oil tankers from transiting, and imposed conditions on some to pass through the strait,” said the GCC Secretary-General, Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi.

He was speaking in New York at the first Security Council meeting on cooperation with the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.

“We call upon the Security Council to assume its full responsibility and take all necessary measures to protect maritime routes and ensure the safe continuation of international navigation,” AlBudaiwi said.

Bahrain has proposed a draft resolution that would greenlight states to use “all necessary means” to assure free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, the measure has divided the 15-member Security Council.

According to diplomatic sources, Russia, China and France -- who each hold veto privileges -- have voiced strong objections despite several modifications to the text.

“The use of force cannot bring peace. Political settlement is the fundamental way forward,” said Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong.

“Authorizing member states to use force would amount to legitimizing the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force, which would inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and lead to serious consequences,” he added.

Russia, a long-time ally of Tehran, says it will not support what it calls one-sided measures that fail to address the root causes of the conflict.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has said a military operation to free the strait is “unrealistic.”

A fifth version of the draft text, which the United States supports, was distributed to member states on Thursday and emphasizes any force would be “defensive in nature.”

“No country should be able to hold the world’s economies hostage to try to gain leverage in a dispute,” U.S. Ambassador Mike Walz told the Security Council.

Around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime.

Its near-total closure is impacting global supplies of important commodities including oil, liquefied natural gas and fertilizer. That has led to a sharp rise in energy prices.