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The United States is set to move a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Iran’s attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that allowing Tehran to dominate the critical shipping lane would set a “dangerous and illegal” global precedent.
Speaking to reporters in Rome after meetings with Italian officials, Rubio said Washington was awaiting Iran’s response on nuclear negotiations and hoped it could pave the way for serious diplomacy.
“We should know something today,” he told reporters in Rome. “The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”
Speaking following meetings with Italian officials, Rubio warned that Iran’s attempts to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz represented a dangerous and illegal precedent.
“If the world is prepared to accept that Iran now controls an international waterway, then be ready, there are like 10 other countries that are going to start doing the same thing in their international waterways,” he said, calling the move “both illegal and unacceptable.”
US is set to move a resolution at the United Nations in which the world and the UN will have an opportunity through the Security Council to vote and say we are not going to allow them to mine the straits; we’re not going to allow them to try to control the straits.
He announced that the US was pursuing a UN Security Council resolution to formally reject Iranian claims over the strait, challenging Russia and China to take a stand or reveal themselves as the obstacle to resolution. “If Russia or China or some other country decide to veto it, then you know what the impediment is,” he said.
He also said that a bunch of humanitarian aid that’s trapped inside the Persian Gulf and needs to be released and has not been able to move.
“But the fundamental question every country- not Italy, every country- needs to ask themselves is, are you going to normalize a country claiming to control an international waterway? Because if you normalize that, you’ve set a precedent that’s going to get repeated in a dozen other places,” he said.
Rubio also pushed back sharply on suggestions that ongoing U.S. military strikes contradicted claims that Operation Epic Fury had concluded. “If you fire a drone or a missile at our destroyer, what are we supposed to do? Let it hit it?” he said, drawing a firm distinction between the offensive campaign, which he said destroyed Iran’s missile infrastructure, navy, and air force, and what he called purely defensive responses to Iranian attacks. On red lines, he was blunt: “They threaten Americans, they’re going to get blown up. How much clearer can you be than that?”
Related posts:
The Islamabad Failure: How a Weekend of Diplomacy Brought the World Closer to War
India Urges Restraint at UNGA, Raises Concerns Over Strait of Hormuz Shipping Attacks
The Strait of Hormuz: A World on the Edge
Iran Security Council Declares Strait of Hormuz to Remain Closed Until US Lifts its Blockade of Iranian Ports
