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STORY: UN / STRAIT OF HORMUZ VETO
TRT: 05:29
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / CHINESE / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 16 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Aerial shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
16 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
3. Wide shot, Russian Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva walks up to the GA rostrum
4. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Anna Evstigneeva, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“In the draft Security Council resolution on maritime security in the Middle East that we are discussing today, not only was a broad context of the conflict ignored, in it, the Security Council was being invited to give a green light to the use of certain protective measures under the pretext of ensuring the safety of navigation. This would have become a carte blanche for the continuation of aggressive actions and further escalation. The removal of references to chapter seven of the UN charter, and to the mentioning of all necessary measures did not solve this problem.”
5. Wide shot, Evstigneeva at the rostrum
6. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Anna Evstigneeva, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“The Russian Federation could not allow the Security Council to sign up to the legitimisation of aggression. For this reason, throughout the entire negotiating process and up to the very last moment, we kept calling on our Arab friends to refrain from advancing this draft resolution. Unfortunately, our Bahraini colleagues and their like-minded partners nevertheless decided to bring the matter to a vote. In that situation, we had no choice but to oppose its adoption.”
7. Wide shot, China’s Ambassador Fu Cong walks up to the GA rostrum
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Fu Cong, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, China:
“China attaches great importance to this draft resolution submitted by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf States. We fully understand their major concerns. At the same time, the Security Council's actions should be aimed at de-escalation. They must not provide a veneer of legitimacy for unauthorised military operations or grant a license to the use of force, let alone further exacerbate tension and add fuel to the fire, thereby leading to an escalation of the conflict.”
9. Wide shot, Fu at the rostrum
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Fu Cong, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, China:
“In exercising its veto on this draft resolution, China has upheld international fairness and justice, defended the purposes and principles of the UN charter, prevented the conflict from expanding further and the situation from escalating further, and created favourable conditions for achieving a temporary ceasefire and launching dialogue and negotiation. China's vote represents a choice responsible for peace and for the people of the region. It stands on the right side of history and will stand the test of history.”
11. Wide shot, Kuwait’s Ambassador Tareq M. A. M. AlBanai walks up to the GA rostrum
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq M. A. M. AlBanai, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kuwait:
“The Kingdom of Bahrain, in its capacity as pen holder, made diligent efforts during extensive consultations with members of the Security Council that lasted nearly three weeks to reach a balanced text that takes into account all concerns, in particular those of the countries of the region. These efforts included extensive consultations and the circulation of six successive versions of the draft resolution. The vote was postponed on more than one occasion in an effort to ensure the unity of the Council on this important matter.”
13. Wide shot, Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani walks up to the GA rostrum
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir-Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Iran:
“The vetoes cast by China and Russia were timely, justified and necessary. During the Council meeting, my delegation made clear that the text was one sided and ignored the root causes of the crisis, the illegal and savage war of aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran on 28th February. Its adoption would have set a dangerous precedent, eroding the sovereign rights of the coastal states, undermining the UN Charter, and increasing the risk of escalation.”
15. Wide shot, Iravani at the rostrum
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir-Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Iran:
“Despite our deep mistrust of the United States, stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless entered the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic. We believe that should the United States adopt a rational and constructive approach and refrain from advancing demands that are inconsistent with the international law, this negotiation can lead to a meaningful outcome.”
17. Wide shot, United States Ambassador Mike Waltz walks up to the GA rostrum
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Waltz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations United States:
“Colleagues, the decision of Russia and China to veto a draft resolution that sought to protect freedom of navigation and maritime security in and around the Strait of Hormuz, was truly unfortunate. They deliberately chose to turn a blind eye, and, worse, chose to permit Iran's attacks on its neighbours, its terror against its own people, and its death grip that is attempting to place on the global economy.”
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Waltz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations United States:
“The world has a time for choosing. There are certainly better partners than this genocidal regime in Iran. We, the United States, have chosen to stand with our Gulf allies, both in the region and here in this body. Instead, others vetoed this resolution and chosen to have chosen to shield the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
20. Wide shot, Waltz walks away
China’s Ambassador Fu Cong today (16 Apr) told the General Assembly that Security Council resolutions “must not provide a veneer of legitimacy for unauthorised military operations, or grant a license to the use of force,” and said China's veto “stands on the right side of history and will stand the test of history.”
On 7 April, the Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution proposed by Bahrain on the Strait of Hormuz after Russia and China voted against it. The General Assembly holds a mandatory debate every time a permanent member of the Security Council uses its veto.
Russian Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva said the vetoed draft resolution, “invited to give a green light to the use of certain protective measures under the pretext of ensuring the safety of navigation” and added that “this would have become a carte blanche for the continuation of aggressive actions and further escalation.”
Evstigneeva said, “the Russian Federation could not allow the Security Council to sign up to the legitimisation of aggression. For this reason, throughout the entire negotiating process and up to the very last moment, we kept calling on our Arab friends to refrain from advancing this draft resolution. Unfortunately, our Bahraini colleagues and their like-minded partners nevertheless decided to bring the matter to a vote. In that situation, we had no choice but to oppose its adoption.”
Fu, for his part said China “attaches great importance” to the draft resolution submitted by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf States, and “fully understand their major concerns.”
In exercising its veto on this draft resolution, he said, “China has upheld international fairness and justice, defended the purposes and principles of the UN charter, prevented the conflict from expanding further and the situation from escalating further, and created favourable conditions for achieving a temporary ceasefire and launching dialogue and negotiation.”
The Ambassador said, “China's vote represents a choice responsible for peace and for the people of the region.”
Kuwait’s Ambassador Tareq M. A. M. AlBanai, speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, including Bahrain, said, “the Kingdom of Bahrain, in its capacity as pen holder, made diligent efforts during extensive consultations with members of the Security Council that lasted nearly three weeks to reach a balanced text that takes into account all concerns, in particular those of the countries of the region.”
These efforts, AlBanai said, “included extensive consultations and the circulation of six successive versions of the draft resolution,” and noted that “the vote was postponed on more than one occasion in an effort to ensure the unity of the Council on this important matter.”
Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told the Council that the vetoes cast by China and Russia “were timely, justified and necessary.”
Iravani said, “during the Council meeting, my delegation made clear that the text was one sided and ignored the root causes of the crisis, the illegal and savage war of aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran on 28th February. Its adoption would have set a dangerous precedent, eroding the sovereign rights of the coastal states, undermining the UN Charter, and increasing the risk of escalation.”
On the state of negotiations with the United States, he said, “despite our deep mistrust of the United States, stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless entered the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic. We believe that should the United States adopt a rational and constructive approach and refrain from advancing demands that are inconsistent with the international law, this negotiation can lead to a meaningful outcome.”
For his part, US Ambassador Mike Waltz said, “the decision of Russia and China to veto a draft resolution that sought to protect freedom of navigation and maritime security in and around the Strait of Hormuz, was truly unfortunate.”
Waltz said Russia and China “deliberately chose to turn a blind eye, and, worse, chose to permit Iran's attacks on its neighbours, its terror against its own people, and its death grip that is attempting to place on the global economy.”
He said the United States, “have chosen to stand with our Gulf allies, both in the region and here in this body. Instead, others vetoed this resolution and chosen to have chosen to shield the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
