Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have encouraged countries to coordinate defensive efforts on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, amid concerns that it would have tacitly condoned military action in the waterway.
The resolution garnered 11 votes in favor, but failed because Russia and China - as permanent veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council - were opposed. The vote followed days of negotiations and pressure from a number of Gulf countries to restore free passage in the strait.
The document, put forward by Bahrain, would have encouraged countries to "coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances," to ensure security of navigation through the strait.
The vote came about eight hours before President Donald Trump's 8 pm deadline on Tuesday for Iran to reopen the strait. He has threatened to order airstrikes on the country's civilian infrastructure if Tehran fails to comply.
Speaking to the council just after the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz - who supported the motion - threatened Iran and referred to the hostage crisis of 1979 by saying "the Iranian regime's first act was to take dozens of Americans hostage."
"Now, it's taking the Strait of Hormuz hostage - and with it, attempting to take the world's economy hostage," Waltz said. "Well, colleagues, that may be its last act. We'll see."
Global energy prices have soared since threats of Iranian retaliation effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz in late February following the US and Israeli strikes that opened the current war against Tehran. The route normally carries one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
Trump has repeatedly demanded the strait be reopened as part of talks to end the now six-week-long conflict.
Ahead of the Tuesday evening deadline, Trump wrote on social media that a "whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran didn't capitulate. Amid the threats, Iran has tightened its grip, imposed a fee system on the waterway and continued to attack the energy infrastructure in nearby Gulf nations.
Russia, which is allied with Iran, had expressed its disapproval with the resolution on Friday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying it would disrupt "very fragile chances for negotiations."
The resolution was initially intended to authorize the use of force in order to help reopen the strait, but Bahrain watered down some of its language in an effort to head off possible vetoes.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have considered joining the US and Israeli war as Iran continues to strike major energy facilities and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, Bloomberg has previously reported. Last week, the UAE called on the UN to authorize a range of measures - including force - to reopen the strait.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres argued for freedom of navigation last week, telling reporters that "when the Strait of Hormuz is strangled, the world's poorest and most vulnerable cannot breathe."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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