UNITED NATIONS, July 12 — The United Nations Security Council is expected to convene an emergency session following Iran’s announcement on April 28, 2025, that it intends to close the Strait of Hormuz. The session will likely invoke Article 39 of the UN Charter, which empowers the council to determine the existence of any threat to international peace and security.
The International Maritime Organization may issue a formal warning to global shipping as a first step. Behind the diplomatic language, the situation is stark. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway through which a substantial portion of the world’s oil supply travels. Iran’s closure could be enforced by naval mines, anti-ship missiles, or armed boarding parties from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Diplomatic options on the table
Renewed negotiations under the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action remain a possibility, with the European Union acting as coordinator. The JCPOA, originally signed in 2015, has been under severe strain since the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump returned to office in January 2025, and his administration has previously stated that closure of the Strait would be a “red line” and an act of war.
Key players include U.S. President Donald Trump, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and IRGC commander Hossein Salami. The IRGC has long been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, and its naval forces have practiced closing the strait in war games for years.
Military scenarios under consideration
Military options range from a U.S.-led naval escort operation, similar to Operation Sentinel launched in 2019, to airstrikes on IRGC naval bases. Operation Sentinel was a multinational maritime security initiative established after previous attacks on tankers near the Strait. A more aggressive response could involve targeted strikes against Iranian missile batteries and mine-laying vessels.
The closure also threatens to complicate ongoing regional security talks between Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Those discussions, which had shown tentative progress in recent months, now face an uncertain future.
For families of the 50,000 American service members stationed across the Middle East, the news carries a particular weight. The Pentagon has not publicly announced troop movements, but defense officials have acknowledged that contingency planning is underway. What this means for patients in the region who rely on medical supplies shipped through the Strait is another concern — hospitals in the Gulf states import most of their pharmaceuticals and equipment by sea.
The human side of this story extends beyond the tanker crews and diplomats. Every oil tanker that cannot pass through the Strait is a shipment of fuel that does not reach a power plant, a hospital generator, or a family’s heating oil tank. The International Energy Agency has warned that a prolonged closure could send global energy prices soaring, hitting low-income households hardest.
The Security Council session is expected within days. Whether it produces a resolution, a statement, or simply a forum for heated exchanges remains to be seen. The EU coordinator role, if activated, could provide a diplomatic off-ramp. But with Supreme Leader Khamenei and IRGC commander Salami signaling defiance, and President Trump’s administration treating the closure as a casus belli, the margin for error is vanishingly thin.
