Bahrain pushes UN-backed action for Hormuz shipping; France tables rival text

By John Irish

PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorise the use of "all necessary means" — language France has warned will be difficult to adopt.

The move underscores mounting regional concern that Iran could continue to threaten the strategic chokepoint, which carries about a fifth of global oil supplies and underpins Gulf economies.

Shipping through the waterway has already slowed to a near‑halt after Iran struck vessels amid its conflict with the United States and Israel.

Diplomats said Bahrain's draft, seen by Reuters and backed by other Gulf Arab states and the United States, uses diplomatic language to authorise force.

France circulated a more conciliatory alternative text, also seen by Reuters, and diplomats said talks were under way to assess whether the two drafts could be reconciled.

France's Foreign Minister Jean‑Noel Barrot told lawmakers that there was little certainty Bahrain's bid to permit the use of force — a power the Security Council can grant under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which allows measures from sanctions to military action — would win enough backing among member states. "The coming days will tell," he said.

BAHRAINI RESOLUTION DETAILS

The Bahraini resolution describes Iran's actions as a threat to international peace and security.

It would authorise countries — acting alone or through voluntary multinational naval coalitions — to use "all necessary means" in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including in the territorial waters of countries along its shores, to ensure passage and to prevent moves that block or interfere with international navigation.

It also expresses readiness to impose measures, including targeted sanctions.

Bahrain's Ambassador to France, Essam al-Jassim, told Reuters discussions were at an early stage.

"External protection has clear limits. International coalitions help secure sea lanes and stabilise markets, but their response remains largely reactive," he earlier told a defence forum in Paris.

"They do not address, for example, escalating state-backed attacks, and without doing so, disruptions will persist."

The Bahraini and U.S. missions to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The text "demands that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels and any attempt to impede lawful transit passage or freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz."

FRENCH RESOLUTION MAKES NO MENTION OF IRAN

Diplomats said there was little prospect of such a resolution being adopted by the Security Council as Iran's partners Russia and China were likely to veto it if necessary.

A Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the U.S., Britain and France. The Russian and Chinese missions to the United Nations were not immediately available for comment.

France on Monday submitted its own draft, taking a more conciliatory tone and aiming to build broader support within the council.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has suggested having a U.N. framework for any action in the Hormuz, has refused to take part in any immediate operations to secure the strait, saying that international efforts could only happen once hostilities calm, insurance and shipping firms are consulted and with Iran's consent.

The French resolution makes no mention of Iran and is not under Chapter VII. It "urges all parties to refrain from further escalation, calls for a cessation of the ongoing hostilities in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, and calls for a return to the path of diplomacy."

Rather than authorising action, the text encourages states with an interest in commercial maritime routes in the strait to coordinate strictly defensive measures — including escorting merchant vessels — in full respect of international law, including the law of the sea.