The United Kingdom has told the UN Security Council that Iranian attacks on Gulf states must stop and that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened, in a statement delivered on Friday at a meeting Bahrain requested on regional and maritime security.
Dame Sarah MacIntosh, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, also condemned the death of a UN employee in Houthi detention in Yemen, according to the text of her remarks published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Friday evening.
The statement restates a position the UK has taken at the Council several times this year, in a conflict that began on 28 February. It came at a session where the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said its members had come under fire from more than 7,000 missiles and drones, and where Iran warned of how it would respond to any renewed fighting.
"Throughout 2026, countries in the Gulf and the wider region have faced repeated Iranian attacks, targeting civilian areas, critical infrastructure, and vital economic assets. The United Kingdom stands in solidarity with our Gulf partners and will continue to provide practical support to strengthen their defences and security," MacIntosh said, according to the published text.
She did not specify in the published text what form that support takes.
On shipping, MacIntosh cited Resolution 2817, which the Council adopted earlier this year. UN News reported that the resolution condemned Iran's attacks and threats to navigation, and that China and Russia abstained.
"Resolution 2817 sent a clear message from this Council: these attacks must stop, and navigational rights and freedoms must be respected," she said. She added: "Disruption to vital maritime routes has consequences far beyond this region, including for global trade, energy, and food security."
Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are about 65% below pre-conflict levels, UN News reported on Friday, citing UK Maritime Trade Operations. It said the strait carried a fifth of the world's oil before the conflict and that October saw the most incidents since the war began.
MacIntosh said the actions of Iran and its proxies, including "recent attacks by Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq", risked a spiralling regional conflict.
Turning to Yemen, she said: "The Houthis must stop their offensives with immediate effect."
"We are appalled by news of the death of UN employee, Mohammad al-Shami, in Houthi detention," she said. The UN announced on 31 October that al-Shami had died. He was a Yemeni staff member of the UN Human Rights Office and the Houthis had held him since June 2024. The cause of his death has not been explained, according to the UN. The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has demanded an "urgent, independent and thorough investigation".
MacIntosh called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of UN, humanitarian, civil society and diplomatic personnel held by the Houthis. Al Jazeera has reported that the group has detained 72 UN staff and NGO workers, a count that includes al-Shami.
She also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognised Government of Yemen, and backed UN efforts towards a negotiated settlement. "The situation in Yemen needs a diplomatic solution," she said.
The GCC Secretary-General, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, briefed the Council and said more than 7,000 missiles and drones had been fired at GCC states since 28 February, Arab News reported. The basis for the figure was not given, and it is a GCC claim, not a UN count. "We are addressing your council today with a unified Gulf voice," Albudaiwi said, as quoted by Arab News.
Iran's deputy UN ambassador, Gholamhossein Darzi, said Tehran's response to any renewed fighting would be "directed against the source of aggression, wherever it may be", according to Associated Press copy carried by Arab News. Iran International reported that Iran accused Bahrain and other Gulf states of facilitating US military operations, and that Bahrain rejected the allegations.
The United States took a similar line to the UK. "The United States stands with our Gulf partners against Iranian efforts to undermine regional stability," the US Mission to the UN said in its published remarks.
The war began on 28 February with Israeli and US strikes on Iran, after which Iran struck US military assets and other targets in six Gulf states and Jordan, according to UN News. A 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, mediated by Pakistan in June, lapsed in August without a peace deal.
Council members "remain deeply divided over the causes of the crisis", the monitoring organisation Security Council Report said before the meeting.
Friday's session came a day after the Council adopted a resolution on the Yemen sanctions regime by consensus. In a separate explanation of vote on Thursday, MacIntosh said the adoption showed the Council's "determination to take decisive action against reckless attacks by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the broader region."
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