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Marrakech – US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz drew a pointed comparison between the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Gibraltar on Thursday, asking the world to imagine Morocco and Spain mining the Mediterranean chokepoint and charging ships to pass through.
Waltz deployed the hypothetical to condemn Iran’s mining and tolling operations in the Hormuz corridor, calling such conduct unacceptable regardless of any underlying dispute between nations.
“Imagine if you had two countries, hypothetically like Spain and Morocco, have some type of dispute, and then throw sea mines into the Strait of Gibraltar and then start trying to charge shipping to pass through in a cynical bid for leverage,” Waltz told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
He described such a scenario as immoral, illegal under international law, and a form of collective punishment against the entire world.
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Waltz warned that what is at stake in the Strait of Hormuz is “nothing less than a cornerstone of worldwide stability and commerce,” and that those who seek to obstruct it “are setting a very, very dangerous precedent and frankly setting the stage to doom global trade.”
He cited Iran’s state media reports that the regime had launched a so-called Persian Gulf Straits Authority earlier in the week, which he characterized as a scheme to force international ship captains to “check in and pay a bribe, pay a toll in order to use these international waterways.”
The US envoy cast the moment as a test for the Security Council. “Now is the time for choosing,” he declared, asking whether council members would stand “with a regime that slaughters its own people, that brutalizes its neighbors, that strangles the world’s economy” or with the Gulf nations seeking a better future for the region.
The remarks came as Waltz stood alongside ambassadors from Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to present a new draft Security Council resolution demanding Iran halt all attacks on commercial vessels, disclose and remove sea mines, cease illegal tolling, and allow the UN to establish a humanitarian corridor through the strait.
Bahrain and the United States co-drafted the resolution, building on the previously adopted Security Council Resolution 2817, which passed without opposition and garnered 136 co-sponsors. The new text invokes Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which would make its provisions binding and open the door to further measures if Iran fails to comply.
Waltz accused Iran of textbook violations of international law, citing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, multiple Hague Conventions, the International Court of Justice’s Corfu Channel judgment, the San Remo Manual, and Resolution 2817 itself.
A unified Gulf front
Bahrain’s Jamal Fares Alrowaiei introduced the draft resolution, telling reporters the measure is guided by the principle of freedom of navigation under international law. Alrowaiei added the resolution would be open for co-sponsorship by all UN member states and expressed hope to “work constructively with all council members in the days ahead to finalize this text.”
The UAE’s Mohamed Abushahab laid out the scale of the disruption. He noted that since February 28, at least 32 commercial vessels have been targeted according to the International Maritime Organization, killing seafarers and leaving an estimated 2,000 ships and approximately 20,000 personnel stranded.
He pointed to a recent attack on a vessel affiliated with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as evidence of the persistent threat to civilian shipping and global energy supplies.
Qatar’s Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani stressed that the strait’s closure had disrupted 20% of global oil and LNG trade, transforming a regional crisis into a global one affecting energy markets, supply chains, and food security.
Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz bin Mohamed Al-Wasel warned that disruptions in the strait are affecting global energy markets and hindering the delivery of essential goods, including food, medical supplies, and humanitarian assistance, with “particularly severe consequences for vulnerable and import-dependent countries.”
He called for immediate and coordinated international action to de-escalate tensions and restore stability to global markets.
Kuwait’s representative, Faisal Ghazi Al-Enezi, argued that the draft resolution reaffirms “a fundamental principle of the international order” – that international waterways must remain open, secure, and free from threats or coercion.
Any attempt to obstruct passage through the Strait of Hormuz “goes beyond a regional concern and carries wider implications for the integrity of the rules governing international navigation,” he cautioned.
The Kuwaiti diplomat noted the resolution builds on the Security Council’s established approach, including Resolution 552 of 1984, which affirmed the direct link between maritime security in the Gulf and the maintenance of international peace and security.
Kuwait stressed the draft is not intended to escalate tensions but rather to reaffirm the balance under international law between coastal state rights and the international community’s right to safe navigation.
China and Russia are likely to veto the resolution
Despite the unified Gulf front, the resolution faces steep obstacles. Diplomats told Reuters that China and Russia are likely to veto the measure, as they did with a previous US-backed resolution last month.
One diplomat reported that Russia called for the draft to be withdrawn or completely rewritten, while China objected to its Chapter VII invocation and deemed the text biased. A Chinese veto would prove awkward ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned trip to Beijing next week, where the Iran conflict is expected to dominate the agenda.
The push at the Security Council coincides with reports that Washington and Tehran are edging toward a temporary agreement to halt hostilities. Trump told reporters there had been “very good talks” over the past 24 hours and expressed confidence the war could end soon, though he set no deadline. Iran confirmed the US proposal remains under review.
The economic toll of the conflict continues to mount. Shipping giant Maersk revealed it faces $500 million in monthly costs from the disruption, passing expenses to customers through higher freight rates.
