STRAIT OF HORMUZ — A draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has secured 112 co-sponsors, according to documents circulated at the council. The measure, tabled by Bahrain and the United States, seeks to protect international waterways, commercial shipping and energy supplies, ensure the safety of seafarers, and bring an end to Iranian attacks on its Gulf neighbours.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have joined Manama and Washington as principal sponsors. India, Japan, South Korea, Kenya, Argentina and most European Union member states have also signed on.

"The list takes up three full pages. It's essentially being co-sponsored by two-thirds of all 193 UN member states." said Gabriel Elizondo, a correspondent covering the council.

The measure is the second such resolution Bahrain has put before the council. The first, tabled the previous month, was vetoed by China and Russia. Both countries have voiced reservations about the new draft. China is a close ally of Tehran and by far its largest oil customer, and has avoided direct involvement in the conflict while maintaining its commercial ties with Iran. No date has been set for a vote.

The diplomatic push at the council comes as peace negotiations between Iran and the U.S. remain deadlocked. Washington is demanding that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme and lift its restrictions on the strait. Iran has called for war reparations, an end to the U.S. naval blockade of its ports and a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Tehran has also insisted that any settlement recognize its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, a demand Washington has described as unacceptable.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi accused the U.S. of seeking capitulation rather than peace. He wrote on X: "True peace cannot be built with the language of humiliation, threat, and forced concession-taking." Gharibabadi said Iran's demands represented "not maximum demands" but "the minimum requirements for any serious, sustainable arrangement."

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that the strait must not be used as a weapon and called for an agreement to reopen the waterway to free passage. Fidan said: "All the world's states are now feeling the brunt of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz." Economists attribute the surge in inflation in part to the disruption of global energy supplies.