CHINA, RUSSIA VETO UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ

April 8, 2026 • Dons Eze • 1 min read

There were 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council that voted for it, and two abstained – Pakistan and Colombia.

So, with the 11 votes, it would have received the nine minimum votes to pass.

However, China and Russia – being two of the permanent members of the council – have their veto power, and they decided to use it – essentially killing the resolution.

This resolution initially called for Article 7, which would have given member states authorisation to use force to open up the Strait of Hormuz. Russia and China were very much against that. That’s why negotiations went on for so long, and the language was changed.

Ultimately, what was voted on today was a version that strongly encouraged states interested in the use of the Strait of Hormuz for commercial maritime routes to coordinate efforts in a defensive manner. That’s much different from using force.

Bahrain was hoping that this would be enough to get Russia and China at least to abstain and allow this resolution to pass.

The Security Council is very much divided and clearly, Russia and China, with this veto, showed that they are staunch allies once again of Iran and will use that veto power to back Iran when necessary. Russia and China are both saying that this resolution was too strong in condemning Iran.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.