China-Russia veto at UN on Strait of Hormuz issue, support for Iran

Russia and China have vetoed a revised resolution raised at the UN Security Council on the Strait of Hormuz issue.

In a vote held, 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution on Tuesday night (April 7). However, it was canceled due to the objections of two permanent members.

Through this move, Moscow and Beijing once again made it clear that they are not abandoning Tehran's side despite international pressure.

According to Al Jazeera's report, although the 9 votes required for the resolution to pass were confirmed, it was not effective due to the veto of Russia and China. Pakistan and Colombia abstained from the vote. The two countries took this position on the grounds that Iran is being held additionally responsible.

Earlier, several changes were made to the resolution in the face of opposition from Russia and China. The initial draft proposed the inclusion of Article 7 of the UN Charter, which would have authorized the use of military force to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. After objections from the two superpowers, the revised proposal called for defensive coordination between the countries concerned to keep commercial shipping safe, rather than direct force.

Diplomatic circles thought that the flexible language of the proposal would allow Russia and China to abstain, thus paving the way for passage. But in the end, that possibility was thwarted by the direct vetoes of the two countries. As a result, the deep divisions within the Security Council on the Middle East crisis and the Iran issue became clear again.

Through this veto, Russia and China further strengthened their position as strong allies of Iran in the international arena. At the same time, the UN's diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions in the Strait of Hormuz suffered a major setback. There has been renewed uncertainty about the path to a solution to this crisis.