On March 11, 2026, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2817 by a vote of 13 in favor, none against, and 2 abstentions from China and Russia. The resolution condemned "in the strongest terms" Iran's "egregious attacks" against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, and reaffirmed strong support for those countries' sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence. It also condemned Iran's attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and reaffirmed the right of passage through international waterways.
Bahrain presented the resolution on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan. It garnered 135 co-sponsors — the highest number of supporters ever achieved for a Security Council resolution — reflecting the extraordinary breadth of international concern over Iran's attacks on Gulf states and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Russia and China abstained rather than vetoing the resolution, but both criticized the text for omitting any reference to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that had triggered the conflict on February 28. Russia simultaneously sponsored a counterdraft calling on "all parties" to immediately stop "military activities" and refrain from further escalation. The Russian draft failed, receiving only four votes in favor (Russia, China, Pakistan, and Somalia), with the United States and Latvia voting against and nine members abstaining.
The diplomatic dynamic revealed the selective framing that characterized the international response to the Iran war. Resolution 2817 condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks on neighboring states while saying nothing about the initial US-Israeli strikes that provoked them — a framing that reflected American diplomatic leverage even as it undermined the resolution's moral authority. China and Russia's decision to abstain rather than veto indicated that Iran's attacks on Gulf states, particularly the Hormuz closure threatening global energy supplies, had isolated Tehran even among its traditional diplomatic protectors. The resolution nonetheless established an important legal marker: the Security Council's formal condemnation of Hormuz attacks and affirmation of transit rights would later undergird the multinational naval operations to reopen the strait.