India, April 8 -- Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes that those two countries would abstain.

The vote - 11 in favour, two against and two abstentions - took place just hours before an 8 pm Eastern deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.

It's doubtful the resolution, even if it had been adopted, would have impacted the war, now in its fifth week, because it was been significantly weakened to try ...