France drafts UN resolution for international mission to restore Hormuz shipping

France is preparing a United Nations Security Council resolution to establish a multinational mission restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, threading one of the trickiest diplomatic needles in recent memory by declining to point fingers at either Tehran or Washington. The initiative, confirmed by French diplomatic sources on September 22, 2026, represents a significant pivot in international strategy after months of failed attempts to address Iranian disruptions in one of the world’s most strategically vital waterways. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil transits the strait, making any blockage a problem that ripples through energy markets, supply chains, and treasury departments from Tokyo to Houston. A lesson learned from April’s veto France’s approach didn’t materialize in a vacuum. It follows the wreckage of a more confrontational attempt led by Bahrain, whose draft resolution (S/2026/273) was vetoed by Russia and China on April 7, 2026. That text took a harder line, and predictably ran into the brick wall of Security Council power dynamics. France had supported the Bahrain-led draft at the time and publicly expressed disappointment when it was blocked. The n...