The UN Security Council has postponed a vote on authorising the use of “defensive” force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks, according to the official program.
The 15-member body was set to vote Friday morning on a draft resolution brought by Bahrain, but by Thursday night the schedule shifted.
The reason given was that the United Nations observes Good Friday as a public holiday, according to diplomatic sources — despite this fact being known when the vote was first announced.
No new date has been given for voting on the draft.
“We cannot accept economic terrorism affecting our region and the world, the whole world is being affected by the developments,” Bahrain’s United Nations ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei said this week.
He said the text, which has gone through several amendments and is supported by the United States, “comes at a critical juncture.”
A sixth and final draft, seen by AFP, greenlights member states — either unilaterally or as “voluntary multinational naval partnerships” — to use “all defensive means necessary and commensurate with the circumstances.”
It applies to the strait and adjacent waters to “secure transit passage and to deter attempts to close, obstruct or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The measure would last for a period of at least six months.
