UN Security Council Delays Vote on Use of Force in Strait of Hormuz

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has delayed the vote scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2026, on the authorization to use force 'defensively' to protect navigation in the Straits of Hormuz from Iran's attacks, according to an official program as reported by France24.

The body of 15 member states was supposed to hold the vote on Friday morning on the draft resolution proposed by Bahrain. However, the schedule changed on Thursday evening.

According to diplomatic sources, the reason given was that the UN was observing Good Friday as a national holiday. This fact was known when the vote was initially announced.

No new date has been set for the vote on the draft.

Iran has been disrupting major shipping routes, threatening fuel supplies, and disrupting the global economy in retaliation for unprovoked U.S.-Israeli attacks since February 28, triggering a month-long conflict in the Middle East.

"We cannot accept economic terrorism affecting our region and the world, the whole world is being affected by the developments," said Bahrain's ambassador to the UN, Jamal Alrowaiei, this week.

He said the text, which had undergone several amendments and was backed by the United States, "comes at a critical time."

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged countries struggling with fuel shortages to "find their own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that U.S. forces would not assist them.

The sixth and final draft granted member states the green light, either unilaterally or as a "voluntary multinational naval partnership"-to use "all necessary defensive means and appropriate in the circumstances."

This applies to the straits and surrounding waters to "secure transit and to prevent attempts to close, block, or interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."

This measure will be in effect for at least six months.

The resolution draft was created in an attempt to garner support from several skeptical countries, including Russia, China, and France.

The revised wording no longer explicitly referred to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorize the use of armed force to restore peace.

The latest version, scheduled for voting on Friday before the postponement, also emphasized the defensive nature of any intervention, a provision that appears to have allayed French concerns.

Jerome Bonnafont, France's ambassador to the UN, said on Thursday that "it is up to the Council to promptly design the necessary defensive responses" after members voted in March to condemn Iran's blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

President Emmanuel Macron previously stated that a military operation to free the Strait of Hormuz was "not realistic."

It is uncertain whether Russia and China, both of which have a veto, will support the draft resolution.

"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," said China's ambassador Fu Cong.

Russia, a longtime ally of Tehran, has denounced the unilateral actions.

Considering the possibility of vetoes from Russia and China, the text "faces little chance of passing in the Security Council," said Daniel Forti, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.

"It is hard to see them supporting a resolution that treats stability in the strait exclusively as a security issue, instead of one that also grapples with the need for a durable political end to the hostilities," he said.

Typically, around one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Nearly total closure of the Strait of Hormuz would impact the global supply of vital commodities, including oil, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizers, and cause a sharp rise in energy prices.

A Security Council mandate allowing member states to use force is relatively rare.

During the Gulf War, a 1990 vote allowed a U.S.-led coalition to intervene in Iraq, while in 2011, a similar vote authorized NATO intervention in Libya.

Read: UN-Linked Diplomat Quits, Alleges Nuclear Strike Scenario Against Iran

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