The United States and Gulf Arab nations are drafting a UN Security Council resolution designed to condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli war, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on Monday. Waltz added that negotiations will take place this week on the resolution, which comes after permanent Security Council members Russia and China blocked a resolution last month that Washington hoped would galvanize international efforts to restore freedom of navigation of the waterway. Waltz told reporters on a briefing call that the US is co-drafting the new resolution with Bahrain with input from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The resolution is expected to require Iran to cease attacks on merchant shipping and attempts to impose tolls on shipping in the strait, and it will demand Iran stop placing sea mines and disclose the locations of mines. Waltz said draft resolution is a “narrower effort” than the previous failed resolution and comes while a ceasefire is in place with Iran. “This is much more focused on mining international waterways and on tolling, which all of the economies of the world are affected by, particularly those in Asia,” he said.
