The UN Security Council is set to vote today on a Bahraini resolution addressing Iran's “unlawful and unjustified” attempt to control the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a broader diplomatic push to reopen the vital trade waterway.
Dozens of countries met in London yesterday for a UK-led conference to form a coalition to re-open the strait, after US President Donald Trump told allies that they must work to open it and said America was insulated from its closure.
With each day the strait is closed, the global economy suffers compounding blows, with oil prices soaring and inflation and food prices creeping up.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict is teetering on a dangerous threshold.
“We are on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East, with dramatic impacts around the globe,” Mr Guterres told reporters in New York yesterday.
He pointed to the consequences of disruptions to maritime routes, warning that “when the Strait of Hormuz is strangled, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable cannot breathe.”
At the Security Council this week, Bahrain presented members with drafts of a resolution that would authorise “all necessary means” to protect commercial shipping in and around the strait.
It had dropped a reference to binding enforcement in an effort to overcome objections from other nations, particularly Russia and China, and the fourth draft sets a six-month limit for the steps.
“We look forward to a unified position from this esteemed council during the vote that will take place on the draft resolution tomorrow, God willing,” Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani told the 15-member Security Council, which Bahrain currently chairs.
Meanwhile, in London, Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said a coalition of countries will use “every possible diplomatic, economic and co-ordinated measure” to re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
She condemned the “reckless” Iranian attacks on the crucial oil shipping lane and said the coalition could include “working with the International Maritime Organisation to ensure that the first stranded ships can get moving again”, as 2,000 remain trapped.
Ms Cooper called on Washington to end the conflict and limit the spillover damage suffered around the world.
“We want to see the conflict resolved, concluded, as rapidly as possible because, frankly, that’s what’s best for the cost of living here in the UK,” she said.
In the meantime, Russia and China are increasingly becoming involved in regional diplomacy.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the latest developments yesterday with China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi.
China was also urged by Germany to “use its influence” on Iran to push for peace talks and an end to attacks against the Gulf states.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, meanwhile, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has evacuated most of its staff from a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran.
Mr Putin called for “intensified diplomatic efforts” towards a settlement.
Mr Putin also met Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Kremlin, where he proposed setting up a “grain and energy hub” in the North African country. Mr Abdelatty said Egypt welcomed the idea.
