Merve Aydogan
07 April 2026•Update: 09 April 2026
Russia vetoed a Bahraini-led UN Security Council draft resolution Tuesday on the Strait of Hormuz, saying it grants "carte blanche for the continued aggressive acts and ongoing further escalation" against Iran, while announcing an alternative resolution co-authored with China.
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast his country's vote against the draft resolution tabled by Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, declaring that Moscow's partners had gone "much further" than acceptable, "having tabled a fundamentally erroneous and dangerous approach to the situation in the region."
"Essentially, nearly each paragraph of the draft that they proposed abounded with unbalanced, inaccurate, and confrontational elements," Nebenzia said, describing it as a one-sided framing of responsibility for regional tensions.
He charged that the draft presented Iran's actions as "the sole source for the so-called destabilizing activities and regional tensions," while making no mention of "the US and Israel's illegal attacks targeting Iranian soil."
Nebenzia also criticized the text for overlooking geography, noting there was "deliberate disregard for the fact that a significant part of the Strait of Hormuz is within Iran's territorial waters."
He further stressed that the latest draft crossed a line that could "generate a dangerous precedent for international law, for the International Law of the Sea, for any international efforts at peace, as well as for the authority of the Security Council."
Reaffirming Moscow's broader regional stance, Nebenzia said Russia "condemns the United States and Israel's aggression against Iran" and "rejects strikes targeting their civilians and their civilian infrastructure."
With the veto cast, Nebenzia announced that Russia and China were preparing an alternative.
He said their draft would be "concise, equitable, and balanced in accordance with the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, specifically regarding peaceful dispute resolution," and pledged it would be submitted for a vote shortly.
