US Removes Chapter VII from Iran UN Draft, Veto Likely
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- United States revised its UN Security Council draft on Iran, stripping out a Chapter VII clause that would have permitted sanctions or military action.
- United States kept tough language against Iran, including a provision to reconvene the council to consider “effective measures… including sanctions” to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
- China is still expected to veto the revised resolution, a stance that would be awkward ahead of President Trump’s upcoming trip to China.
- Russia also signaled it will veto, warning that “one‑sided and confrontational draft resolutions” could trigger escalation in the Middle East.
- Original resolution backed by the United States and Bahrain failed last month after China and Russia exercised their vetoes.
- Marco Rubio called the resolution a test of the UN’s utility and urged China and Russia not to veto it.
Why it matters: The draft’s softer language aims to keep the Council’s response to Iran’s Hormuz attacks within diplomatic bounds, yet the expected Chinese and Russian vetoes preserve the status quo, limiting the UN’s capacity to enforce navigation freedoms and weakening US diplomatic leverage before President Trump’s China visit.
