UN Security Council to vote on Strait of Hormuz

[Twiglets1]

The UN Security Council’s vote on a proposal to ensure the safety of ships in the Strait of Hormuz has been rescheduled from Friday to Saturday, according to media reports.

The council’s 15 members are set to vote on a resolution from Bahrain aimed at protecting commercial shipping in the critical waterway, which usually carries about one-fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies.

The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies have reported that a draft resolution includes text authorising countries “to use all defensive means necessary” to protect commercial shipping.

The proposal is considered unlikely to pass, as China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the council, has made it clear that it opposes any resolution that mentions the use of force.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/4/2/iran-war-live-trump-to-address-nation-tehran-denies-seeking-ceasefire

No idea really. How about Reddit ?

I doubt it going by the examples of attacks on women and bannings on there reposted on here, I don’t use it though.

What you’ve listed has been pretty good at showing a democracy positively. A free press that can criticise the gov, a court system that deals with appeals, public pressure leading to onerous laws being dropped.

And we’re all posting freely on mn a site predominantly for women, which can’t be done everywhere.

So you are saying this site influenced a court to interpret an existing act in a certain way, but another site probably did not because "bannings". And that is democracy in action. Therefore, it is not possible for anything in the UK to be seen as authoritarianism.

This is out of my lane here, but is there not something about Bridget Phillipson delaying action on that judgement ? Looking at changing the law the court made judgement on or something ?

No I haven’t said the court was ‘influenced’, they ruled in FWS favour. All part of a good democratic system where women can get together and make a case for change.

And that is why nothing in the UK can be seen as authoritarian ?

We’re not an authoritarian country no, it’s still a democracy even if some things get pushed back on. Did you say you were living somewhere that was more authoritarian?

Maybe it’s hard to see how it works, admittedly I’m not sure how you can access mn but not google other stuff.

I am just trying to understand the logic here.

I have no idea re MN access. Ask them ?

No thanks it’s not that important.

Re the U.K. it’s a democratic country that has various systems that help us not slide into authoritarianism. All your examples re the press, public pressure, courts are good ones of that in action.

Other countries don’t have those checks, balances and freedoms and end up as more authoritarian and autocratic, it sounds like where you are is more aligned to that.

Returning to the subject of this thread

"A vote by the UN Security Council on a resolution about the Strait of Hormuz was expected today - but a UN official has confirmed to the BBC that it will not take place as planned."

"No date has officially been set for the vote, according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric."

China is not alone in advising people, including tourists, to carry their ID on their person. I had to do that when I visited Russia, and my goodness, it applies in spades to Native Americans in the US today, if they don't want to end up in an ICE detension centre.

Chinese law mandates carrying identification at all times and either a passport or residence card is acceptable. Being a foreigner doesn't get you a free pass. Even in the UK, it's natural for me to walk with photo ID. Where I live, you even need to show it to access the local recycling centre.

I wouldn't think that it was necessarily anti-capitalistic to prevent foreigners from staying in cheap hotels. My first thoughts would be national security, cost, and ease of surveillance. Large hotels will by necessity have a greater concentration of foreigners, so easier to keep track of. Economies of scale etc. etc.

Foreigners staying in a large hotel isn't anti-capitalistic or against small businesses. It's a capitalistic almost free market allocation of resources for maximising return on investment and profit in the private sector.

One of the things I have always encouraged in my children is independent thought; to not just accept things but always to ask why. It makes for a very interesting world.

I live in the UK too and never consciously carry photo ID.

Funnily enough, only when I visit the recycling centre because they do ask for ID to check you are local.

I do think it's hard on small businesses in China not to be able to accept foreign custom and not all tourists can afford 4 or 5 star hotels so it will be a barrier to some people even visiting the country. There's a reason why the tourism industry in most countries offers a range of price points - so it's accessible to all and the industry gets money out of all visitors, not just those that can afford the big hotels.

So china is supplying Iran with weapons hence the tankers getting through

I do think it's hard on small businesses in China not to be able to accept foreign custom and not all tourists can afford 4 or 5 star hotels so it will be a barrier to some people even visiting the country. There's a reason why the tourism industry in most countries offers a range of price points - so it's accessible to all and the industry gets money out of all visitors, not just those that can afford the big hotels.

That's because you're looking at the issue from your own Western centric viewpoint. Even talking about how tourism works in other countries is senseless. It's irrelevant to the Chinese context. China is following it's gov't policies, hence the tag 'authoritanian capitalism'.

When a country is experiencing a tourist boom like China is currently experiencing, it makes economic sense to encourage bigger spenders. Capitalism 101.
I hardly think that China wants tourists with small wallets when they can have ones with fat ones.

Why can't they have both types of spender like other countries do?

The boys flew on a Chinese airline, they spent money in China.

Would have spent more money in China had cheap accommodation options been available. As it was they decamped to his friend's family home for most of their trip which was free.

Because the Chinese can do what they want in their own country?

This seems difficult for you to understand, but why should they care that some random tourist spent less, as I doubt you're talking millions here.

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it wrong.

It’s not about one or two tourists.

But of course the Chinese can do what they want in their own country.

That's really interesting @BelleHathor

Sounds like a personal journey. You do seem to have a huge amount of historical knowledge wrt international relations. Do you work in the field or is it all self study?
From my perspective, I would say that I am a pacifist, a feeling which appears to span the generations in my family, after losses in WW1.
We have much to learn from ancient Asian civilisations. I aspire to the Buddhist philosophy but don't have enough time for study at present (FT job, DC). Maybe one day I will become a better person! 🙂

'One of the things I have always encouraged in my children is independent thought; to not just accept things but always to ask why. It makes for a very interesting world.'

Ditto. A couple of my DC are interested in Philosophy, especially one. She is particularly argumentative but I think that's a good thing!

While we wait for the UN security council to do their vote, we have this. From Sky news feed:

"Former head of IAEA urges Gulf states to stop 'madman' Trump
Donald Trump's threat to unleash "all hell" on Iran (see 15:12 post) has prompted strong words from the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The US president posted on Truth Social that "time is running out" for Iran to make a deal.
But Mohamed ElBaradei, who was director general of the IAEA between 1997 and 2009, posted a response on X, calling Trump a "madman" and urging Gulf states to intervene.
"To the Gulf governments: please, once again, do everything in your power before this madman turns the region into a ball of fire…" he wrote.
In a second post, he pleaded to the United Nations, China, Russia and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others.
"Nothing can be done to stop this madness?!" he asked.
While at the IAEA, ElBaradei repeatedly said he was concerned about Iran's capacity to enrich uranium. But during the 2000s, he was often in conflict with the US, which viewed him as too lenient."

This guy has been out of office for a while, but I think it would be a fair conclusion to me that his work was used in the 2015 Iran nuke deal, the JCPOA, and he does know a bit about this stuff. Although he is not addressing nukes here of course.

But this reminded me of something I saw that apparently Andrew Neil said. Paraphrasing, " Iran does not need a nuke now, because now it knows it has something far more powerful that can bring the world to it's knees".

What a powerful observation.

Because even if the world divests from using gulf oil to remove this weapon from Iran's arsenal, it will take years to get the other oil sources AND the refineries' modified to handle it. Not to mention building the new fertilizer plants the world will need.

And there is Helium too. Essential for chip manufacture. And that can't be made. That can only be collected from sites with specific geology.

"'madman' Trump" indeed.

Ha! I studied Philosophy, including Moral Philosophy and Logic and my dc like to joke that I just like to argue with people. I do find it frustrating when people persist in their pov without being fully informed or even interested in learning from the discussion. How else can one grow?

You're missing the point while flogging a dead horse. National security vs poorer tourists vs image. I doubt China wants to be known as a cheap tourist destination like eg Thailand or Vietnam.
Admitting that you could be wrong about something doesn't mean that you've lost. It means that you've learned.

I aspire to be as perfect as you @shuddacuddadidnt

I think it’s because you studied Moral Philosophy & Logic.

Sorry to disappoint, but the mere fact that we are human beings means that we are not perfect.😢

Report just now that a tanker just passed through. Sky news feed:

"Tanker loaded with Iraqi crude oil passes through Hormuz - tracking data
An oil tanker loaded with crude from Iraq has passed through the Strait of Hormuz close to the Iranian coast, shipping data showed.
The Ocean Thunder was carrying about a million barrels of Basrah Heavy crude on 2 March and is expected to discharge its cargo in Pengerang, Malaysia.
It comes after Iran said Iraq was exempt from any restrictions to pass through the vital waterway."

It was reported that Malaysia would be exempt from tolls. So if that is starting to happen, I wonder if this will influence the UN vote. If some nations are getting tankers through, they might exert pressure on others not to start firing.

Iran Exempts Malaysian Tankers from Strait of Hormuz Fee | OilPrice.com

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

That should solve it all. No need for the UN meeting now.