“Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten international security and navigational rights and freedoms.” Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, read that line aloud at the United Nations on Thursday, September 24, 2026, on behalf of some 80 countries.
The joint statement had a plain demand: reopen the strait, urgently and fully. Its backers, Reuters reported, included Gulf Arab states and major Western powers.
Houthis in the crosshairs
Iran was not the only target. The signatories also said they “strongly condemn the Houthis’ decision to resume conflict in Yemen, their continuous strikes on Saudi Arabia and their reckless attacks in the Red Sea.” They warned that the Houthi advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would raise the risk to international shipping, maritime security and global trade.
Arab News noted that the Iran-backed group captured the island of Mayun earlier in September. The island sits at the entrance to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab, another chokepoint for energy shipments. Both Iran and the Houthis describe their actions as defensive, Reuters said.
No tolls, no conditions
The text asked for the “safe, secure and unimpeded transit of vessels without the imposition of tolls, conditions or legal charges” consistent with international law. It also declared that “commercial shipping and seafarers must never be used as leverage.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned a month earlier that choking trade and the flow of food and goods would push prices up, deepen hunger and cut harvests worldwide, Arab News reported.
A minister with a stake
Al Zayani spoke at a media conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said Tehran’s threats “remain very real and continue to grow” across the Middle East, and offered condolences to those who had lost innocent lives to Iranian and Houthi attacks. A political solution, he said, is the way forward.
Bahrain has reason to feel this personally. It hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and has been hit several times by Iranian drones and missiles since America and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Iranian strikes have also reached Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Turkiye, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, according to Arab News. None of those states is a direct party to the conflict.
Sources
- At UN, 80 countries demand reopening of Hormuz, condemn Iran, Houthi attacks
- 80 countries condemn Iranian attacks on neighboring countries at UN
