Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution during a meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations headquarters. AFP
The move comes amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran restricted access to vessels linked to its adversaries following the outbreak of the US-Israel war on 28 February, triggering wider regional frictions and rattling global energy markets.
Negotiations on the draft are expected this week, Waltz said, following the failure last month of a broader US-backed resolution, which Russia and China blocked in the council.
The new proposal, co-drafted by the United States and Bahrain with input from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, is expected to focus more narrowly on maritime security.
It calls on Iran to halt attacks on commercial shipping, stop imposing tolls on vessels transiting the strait, and disclose the locations of any sea mines.
“This is much more focused on mining international waterways and on tolling, which all of the economies of the world are affected by, particularly those in Asia,” Waltz said on a briefing call.
The diplomatic push comes as tensions persist despite a fragile ceasefire, with both sides maintaining competing restrictions on maritime access in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would launch “Project Freedom” to ensure passage through the waterway, adding it would begin on Monday. US officials later said escorted vessels had transited the strait -- a claim Iran dismissed as “baseless and completely false.”
Iranian officials have consistently rejected any attempt to reopen the strait by force, warning it would violate the ceasefire. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US initiative was counterproductive, stressing that “there’s no military solution to a political crisis” and calling for a negotiated settlement.
They say their actions are a response to the US-Israel war and that they have presented a proposal to end the conflict, though it has not been accepted by Washington. The plan, delivered through mediators, would see Iran allow shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to hostilities and the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports imposed in April.
It would also defer negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program -- a key sticking point that Washington has insisted on addressing upfront -- with Tehran pushing instead for a phased approach linking de-escalation on the ground to future talks.
Despite the lack of agreement, indirect contacts between the two sides have continued through intermediaries, reflecting parallel tracks of negotiation and confrontation.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Washington against further escalation, writing on X: “We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet.”
Tehran has denied that its combat vessels were hit in US strikes, rejecting US military claims that Iranian boats were targeted while enforcing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials instead say US forces struck two small civilian vessels travelling from Oman to Iran, killing five passengers.
They have also insisted they will not relinquish control over the strait, arguing that foreign military operations -- including US efforts to reopen the waterway -- have undermined shipping security and driven the escalation.
The confrontation has disrupted global trade flows and energy markets, underscoring the economic stakes tied to the narrow passage, through which around one-fifth of global oil consumption and a significant share of global gas trade passes.
Despite the tensions, some commercial transit has continued under heavy military escort. Denmark’s shipping giant Maersk said one of its vessels successfully passed through the strait under US protection.
Waltz said the draft resolution is a more targeted effort to secure international backing after the earlier proposal failed to pass the Security Council.
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