Gulf nations recently attempted to push forward a United Nations Security Council resolution, crafted by Bahrain, aimed at permitting the use of force to safeguard shipping activities in the Strait of Hormuz.

The resolution appeared straightforward and defensive in nature, designed to ensure safe passage through the strategically vital waterway.

However, this initiative faced a significant setback on Thursday, as three countries blocked its progress. Unsurprisingly, Russia and China were among them, but unexpectedly, France joined the opposition. According to a diplomat and a senior U.N. official, these nations resisted any measures that would authorize military action or the use of force.

French President Emmanuel Macron argued that employing force was “unrealistic,” citing concerns that it would take an excessive amount of time and potentially expose individuals to threats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Despite personal biases, the situation raises questions about France’s stance, particularly given the involvement of its own interests. Their reluctance to permit Gulf states to defend themselves due to potential violence seems perplexing. While the Gulf nations can act independently of the U.N., the matter ideally requires a global effort. Yet, given the U.N.’s current inefficacy, it’s uncertain whether this resolution will succeed.

Iran signaled on Thursday that it intended to continue to oversee shipping traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz, even after the war.

But the effort was effectively stymied on Thursday by three countries. You could probably guess two of them – Russia and China. But the third was ridiculous: France. They opposed any authorization of military action or use of force, according to a diplomat and a senior U.N. official.

The actual vote on the resolution, which was drafted by Bahrain with the support of the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, is expected to be scheduled for Friday. But it remained unclear whether extra hours of diplomacy would bring the three veto-holding countries on board.

Macron said use of force was “unrealistic” because it would “take an inordinate amount of time” and expose people to threats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  

I don’t like to use pejoratives, but throughout writing this, I kept thinking of the term “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” when it comes to France. How do you behave this way, with such a weak-kneed response to dealing with a terrorist regime, even when your own interests are involved? And they don’t even want to authorize the Gulf states to be able to defend themselves, because…it might be violent. Unbelievable. Of course, the Gulf states don’t need the U.N. to act. It should be a world effort, but the U.N. is so ineffective, I wouldn’t bet they can get this through.