Amid widening conflict, UN Security Council orders Iran to stop attacks on Gulf states immediately

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution yesterday, asking  Iran to immediately cease attacks against Gulf states, calling the strikes a violation of international law and threatening global peace and security. Convened on the 12th day of the ongoing war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, the Council witnessed a contentious debate, after which it voted on two competing draft resolutions. Ultimately, it adopted a Bahrain-led resolution condemning Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, while rejecting a separate proposal put forward by Russia. 

The successful resolution, formally adopted as Resolution 2817, was introduced by Bahrain on behalf of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council—Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman—along with Jordan. The resolution was endorsed by as many as 135 United Nations member states, showing broad support for the Gulf states. It passed comfortably with 13 votes in favour, none against and abstentions from Russia and China.

Supporters of the resolution argued that Iran’s actions posed a serious threat to regional and global stability. Bahrain’s UN representative, Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, told the Council that air raid sirens were sounding in his country even as the meeting took place. He said Iranian strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure in Gulf nations not directly involved in the conflict represented a dangerous escalation.

Alrowaiei also invoked Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, emphasising the Gulf states’ right to self-defence. Protecting the region, he argued, was not only a regional responsibility but also an international one because of the Gulf’s central role in global energy supplies and economic stability.

Similar concerns were voiced by Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Nations. She warned that failure by the Security Council to act would send a “dangerous signal” that attacks on uninvolved neighbouring countries would carry no consequences. The United States also welcomed the resolution. Washington’s UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, praised the broad coalition of support behind the measure, saying that the backing of 135 countries demonstrated international solidarity with nations facing Iranian retaliation. “This is exactly what the United Nations should be about,” he said.

In contrast, the Council rejected a competing resolution introduced by Russia. Moscow’s UN representative, Vasily Nebenzya, described the draft as a “simple, direct and unequivocal” proposal aimed at de-escalation. The Russian resolution called for an immediate end to hostilities, condemned attacks on civilians and urged negotiations. However, it avoided assigning blame to any party for the outbreak of the conflict. The proposal failed to gain significant support. It received only four votes in favour—from Russia, China, Pakistan and Somalia. The United States and Latvia voted against it, while nine other countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Bahrain and Colombia, abstained. Critics argued that the Russian proposal lacked credibility and moral authority, particularly given Moscow’s own ongoing war in Ukraine.

Iran strongly condemned the adoption of the Bahrain-led resolution. Tehran’s UN ambassador, Amir-Saeid Iravani, called the vote a “deeply regrettable day” and a “lasting stain” on the Security Council’s record. Iravani accused the council of misusing its mandate to serve the political agendas of certain members. He singled out the United States, accusing it of abusing its position as the council’s current president. According to him, the resolution ignored what he described as the “facts on the ground”, namely that the United States and Israel had initiated the conflict through their military strikes on Iran. He added that the sustained bombardment by American and Israeli forces had already killed more than 1,300 civilians in Iran, including children.

Beyond the diplomatic exchanges in New York, the conflict has inflicted severe damage across the region. Following a surprise wave of United States and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and daily punishing strikes subsequently, Iran has sought to impose economic pressure by disrupting global energy supplies. Tehran has launched ballistic missiles and drones at several Gulf locations, and in the past couple of days hit fuel tanks at the port of Salalah in Oman, the Shaybah oilfield in Saudi Arabia and areas near Dubai International Airport.

At the same time, Iran has effectively disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes. Several commercial vessels have come under attack, while the US military says it has destroyed 16 Iranian minelaying boats operating in the area. The disruption has sent global energy markets into turmoil. Oil prices have surged by around 20 per cent, prompting the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels, including 172 million barrels by the US, from emergency reserves in an effort to stabilise markets.