FOREIGN Minister and United Nations Security Council President for the current month Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani yesterday chaired the Security Council session convened to vote on a draft resolution submitted by Bahrain, on behalf of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, concerning freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
At the outset of the session, the Foreign Minister delivered the following statement:
“Excellencies,
May the peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you,
The Kingdom of Bahrain, on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, submits the draft resolution before the Security Council today on securing maritime navigation in the Arabian Gulf region, as a decisive and responsible response to serious developments affecting one of the most vital waterways for international trade: the Strait of Hormuz.
The global importance of the Strait of Hormuz is reflected in the fact that approximately 38 per cent of global seaborne crude oil trade passes through it, along with 29 per cent of liquefied petroleum gas, 19 per cent of liquefied natural gas, and 20 per cent of refined petroleum products, including high-sulphur fuel oil, which is an essential component in fertiliser production heavily relied upon by developing countries, particularly during agricultural seasons. In addition, nearly 30 per cent of global helium supplies transit the Strait, a critical element in semiconductor manufacturing, as well as essential food supplies and medicines vital to the lives of millions.
Any disruption to the flow of these resources does not only affect energy markets; its impact extends to agricultural supply chains, global food security, and key sectors linked to advanced technologies.
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council represent a primary source of global energy supplies, making the security of the Strait of Hormuz a shared international responsibility that goes beyond the regional context and directly affects global economic stability.
Therefore, we say clearly before this Council, which bears responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, that the Islamic Republic of Iran has no right to close this waterway to international navigation, depriving the peoples of the world of these vital resources, in violation of international law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and fundamental moral and humanitarian principles. If this Council allows the Strait to remain closed today, similar actions will be repeated in other straits and waterways, and the world risks descending into a system governed by force, arrogance, domination, and disregard for international law.
The draft resolution before the Council comes at a highly critical and sensitive moment, as Iran continues its unlawful attacks using thousands of ballistic missiles and drones against our countries, targeting civilian infrastructure, vital facilities, and maritime security, in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, particularly international humanitarian law, posing a direct threat to regional and international peace and security, and in clear breach of Security Council resolution 2817 adopted just thirty days ago, as well as Human Rights Council resolution L.38 adopted two weeks ago.
Iran’s disregard for international resolutions and its continued threats to maritime security are not new, but rather part of a documented and recurring pattern. The Security Council has previously addressed such threats to navigation in the Arabian Gulf and condemned them unequivocally in resolution 552 (1984).
Nor has the international community forgotten Iran’s recurring pattern of resorting to economic coercion and threats related to closing or disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, instead of pursuing diplomatic relations based on shared interests, cooperation, and principles of good neighbourliness. The region has witnessed similar incidents in 2011, 2012, and 2019, including attacks on oil tankers and repeated statements using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of political and economic pressure.
The draft resolution before you does not create a new reality; rather, it constitutes a serious response to a recurring pattern of hostile Iranian conduct that must come to an end, and an activation of operative paragraph 6 of resolution 552.
Forty-two years after the adoption of resolution 552, we urge the international community and this Council to take a firm, serious, and decisive stand against irresponsible practices that seek to impose a unilateral economic siege on the countries and peoples of the world.
These practices and attacks have gone beyond regional implications and now directly affect global economic stability and international food security. The World Food Programme has warned that the closure of the Strait has increased the costs of fuel, transport, and food, and that its continued closure could push nearly 45 million additional people into acute food insecurity, underscoring the need for urgent and responsible international action.
Excellencies,
In light of the current global instability, it can no longer be ignored that the obstruction of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz represents a deliberate and systematic pattern of behaviour, using this vital passage as a tool of political pressure and bargaining.
Let us be clear: failure to act today will have serious consequences for the world and humanity. It will encourage further violations of international law, undermine the credibility of the Security Council, and send a dangerous signal that its resolutions can be ignored without consequence.
The economic and humanitarian crisis we face today raises a fundamental question for the Security Council and the international community:
Will the international community accept being held hostage to attempts at economic coercion, by any party?
Will this Council fulfil its responsibility to confront these blatant violations that contradict international law and disregard its resolutions?
The adoption of this resolution today will send a strong and unified message:
That we stand together to uphold international law;
That we will protect civilian lives, global trade, and food security;
That we will safeguard vital supply chains essential for advanced technology, ensuring continued global technological progress for the benefit of humanity;
That we will not allow threats to or the closure of vital international waterways.
Excellencies,
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s non-permanent membership in the Security Council, and our presidency of the Council for the month of April, place upon us a delicate responsibility: to protect the interests of our affected countries and the world at large, while preserving the unity of the Security Council so that it remains united in its positions and decisions. Accordingly, following continuous negotiations and extensive consultations, we have ensured that the draft resolution is balanced, implementable, and capable of achieving its intended objectives.
We therefore urge all members of this Council to support the draft resolution. The credibility of the Council, the security and stability of our region, the growth of the global economy, the preservation of food security, and the advancement of technology all depend on your decision today.
Thank you.”
The Council subsequently voted on the draft resolution, which was not adopted after the representatives of Russia and China exercised their veto power. Eleven members voted in favour, while Pakistan and Colombia abstained.
Following the vote, the Foreign Minister delivered the following statement:
“Your Excellencies,
The Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan express their profound regret at the failure of this Council to adopt the draft resolution presented before it today. The Council has failed to discharge its responsibility in the face of an unlawful act that demands clarity and resolve not deferral or hesitation.
We had hoped that the draft resolution would represent a step towards a durable solution guaranteeing freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as an international waterway – one through which no state has the right, under international law, to impede innocent passage.
In this context, we reaffirm the voice of the international community as expressed in Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026), which set out unambiguous obligations – obligations that admit of no interpretation and no selective implementation. Any failure to fulfil these obligations, or to enforce them with rigour, undermines the credibility of this Council and emboldens further violations.
Accordingly, we call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply fully with these obligations and to engage constructively with the international community, rather than persisting in its policy of escalation – including the launching of ballistic missiles and drones against neighbouring states, which this Council has called upon it to cease immediately and rather than continuing its attempts to impose a reality based on threat and economic coercion through the obstruction of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with all the consequences that entails for energy security, food and medicine supplies, international trade, and the global economy.
Your Excellencies,
The threats facing freedom of navigation and regional security do not diminish with time, nor can they be treated as transient crises. They are enduring challenges that require collective action and a firm, principled stance.
On this basis, we affirm that our states will continue to work – in co-ordination with our partners and allies – to guarantee freedom of navigation, protect international maritime routes, and prevent the recurrence of such threats, thereby safeguarding global economic stability and the interests of the international community.
The draft resolution that this Council has failed to adopt reflects a necessary response to serious developments that have posed a direct threat to freedom of maritime navigation and have affected the safety and stability of international trade, energy markets, and food supplies. The resolution was also designed to entrench the relevant principles of international law pertaining to freedom of navigation, and to ensure that maritime waterways cannot be used as instruments of pressure or coercion. Its failure to be adopted today sends a deeply troubling message to the peoples of the world that threatening international waterways can pass without a firm, collective response from the organisation charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
The threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, and its use as a tool of leverage before the international community, is not a new phenomenon. It is a pattern of behaviour Iran has repeated over decades, one that has had direct consequences each time for global markets, energy security, food supplies, and the lives of the people of this region.
We consider that the Council’s failure to address these consequences with firmness will serve only to entrench this pattern of irresponsible conduct in violation of international law, and to broaden the scope of its dangers posing a direct threat to the stability of the international order as a whole.
The Arabian Gulf is not distant from your countries neither geographically nor economically. It is integral to your stability and your prosperity. Its security is your security. The Gulf states do not merely secure the energy supplies that power the global economy; they contribute to market stability, support supply chains, and serve as trusted trade and investment partners not least for developing nations and countries of the Global South, which find themselves in the frontline of harm from such crises and bear a disproportionate share of the cost of any disruption to supply chains and energy markets. Our states also contribute to the development of future industries, including energy supply chains and associated technologies, and host communities of talent from across the world where your citizens and ours work side by side in an environment grounded in security, dignity, equal opportunity, and shared aspiration.
Your Excellencies,
The failure to adopt this draft resolution does not alter the facts on the ground. It does not protect civilian mariners. It does not secure global supply chains. It does not guarantee the free flow of energy and trade. And it does not exempt those responsible for violations of international law from accountability. Rather, it raises serious questions about this Council’s capacity to fulfil its fundamental responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Let it be clearly understood by the Islamic Republic of Iran: the ongoing attacks it launches against commercial vessels, and its attempts to obstruct legitimate transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and a direct threat to international peace and security. The failure to adopt this resolution confers no legitimacy upon these acts acts that are harmful to the interests of states and peoples the world over. It does not diminish existing legal obligations. Nor does it detract from the right of states to take all necessary measures, individually and collectively, in defence of their sovereignty, security, stability, and interests and those of the states and peoples of the region consistent with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, as referenced in Resolution 2817.
Your Excellencies,
The Kingdom of Bahrain regrets that this Council has not risen to the gravity of this crisis with the unity of purpose and fulfilment of duty that its legal responsibilities demand notwithstanding the accommodation and cooperation we demonstrated in accepting the amendments requested by certain member states, in a spirit of preserving Council unity.
We reaffirm that we will continue to work with our regional and international partners to protect maritime navigation, safeguard civilian lives, and engage with this Council to press Iran towards immediate and full compliance with the provisions of Resolution 2817.
The credibility of this Council has been placed on trial today. It is not an abstract concept – it is measured by the Council’s capacity to act when action is required. As for responsibility: it endures. The Kingdom of Bahrain will continue to fulfil it, alongside all those committed to international law, to justice, and to the right of peoples to live in dignity and equality, free from fear of what lies ahead.
Thank you.”
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