The UN Security Council rejected a resolution on protecting the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf countries were in favor. Against - Russia and China

At a meeting of the UN Security Council, Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution from Bahrain aimed at resuming and protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

The document calls on states that are interested in using the Strait of Hormuz to “coordinate defensive efforts commensurate with the circumstances” for the safety and security of commercial shipping along this route.

These efforts, according to the text of the resolution, mean escorting merchant ships, as well as “deterring attempts to close, block or otherwise interfere with international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Initially, Reuters writes, Bahrain, which was supported in these efforts by other Gulf countries and Washington, submitted a draft resolution on April 2 that would authorize “all necessary defense measures” to protect commercial shipping.

China opposed the resolution authorizing the use of force. According to Beijing, this version could “legitimize the illegal and indiscriminate use of force, which will inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and entail serious consequences.”

The vote on the resolution was supposed to take place on April 3, but it was postponed. The text of the document, writes Associated Press , was softened several times in order to convince Moscow and Beijing to at least abstain from voting.

To adopt the document, a minimum of nine votes in favor and no veto were required from the five permanent members of the Council: Great Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

As a result, at the meeting on April 7, 11 countries - members of the Security Council spoke in support of the new version of the resolution, Russia and China voted against it, and two more countries - Pakistan and Colombia - abstained from voting.

• Before the US and Israeli war with Iran began in late February, about a fifth of the world's oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. After the outbreak of hostilities, Tehran effectively blocked the strait, causing world energy prices to rise sharply.
• US President Donald Trump threatened to give Iran “hell” and “return to the stone age” and strike Iranian energy facilities if Tehran does not end the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump threatened on April 7 with the "destruction of an entire civilization" on the night of April 8 - when his ultimatum to Iran expires.