September 19, 2025
Stephen Quillen and News Agencies
An Iranian flag flutters in front of the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just outside the southern city of Bushehr, IranA resolution on Friday to block
the sanctions fell in the Security Council by a vote of four to nine, meaning
European sanctions will return by September 28 if no significant deal is
reached beforehand.
Russia, China, Pakistan and Algeria voted to stop the sanctions from being reintroduced, while nine UNSC members voted against sanctions relief. Two countries abstained.
The vote follows a 30-day process launched in late August by Britain, France and Germany – known as the E3 – to reinstate sanctions unless Tehran meets their demands.
“Today’s action is hasty, unnecessary and unlawful. Iran recognises no obligation to implement it,” Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN, said at the session on Friday.
“Any attempt by the E3 to reimpose sanctions already terminated is not only baseless but a direct assault on international law and the credibility of the Security Council itself,” he said.
“This travesty unfolds against the backdrop of blatant aggression,” he added, referring to Israel and the United States’s attacks on his country’s nuclear facilities during June’s 12-day war.
The council, Iravani added, had “squandered an opportunity for dialogue and consensus”.
Iran says Europeans ‘misusing JCPOA mechanism’
Iranian officials have accused the European trio of abusing the dispute mechanism contained in the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which allows for the application of sanctions under a “snapback mechanism”.
“What Europeans are doing is politically biased and politically motivated … They are wrong on different levels by trying to misuse the mechanism embedded in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said before the vote.
The Europeans offered to delay the snapback for up to six months if Iran restored access for UN nuclear inspectors and engaged in talks with the US.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that Tehran had presented a “reasonable and actionable plan” and insisted Iran remains committed to the NPT.
But the E3 accuse Tehran of breaching their nuclear commitments, including by building up a uranium stockpile of more than 40 times the level permitted under the JCPOA. The UN’s nuclear watchdog board also ruled back in June that Iran was not respecting international nuclear safeguards.
“However slim, there is still a possibility of diplomatic engagement to fix this already complicated issue,” said Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran.
But today’s vote adds another “layer of complexity” and puts Iran “on the very brink” of deeper sanctions that would compound pressure on its economy, he added.
‘Clock is ticking for high-level diplomacy’
The UNSC vote allowing sanctions to snap back is not the complete “end of negotiations,” as the parties have just over a week to come up with a last-ditch deal, said Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN.
“It’s the week where world leaders are all here in New York for the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, so it sets the stage for high-level diplomacy between Iran and particularly the three European countries,” said Bays. But “we’re reaching the end of this high-stakes diplomacy, and the clock really is ticking.”
Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons but affirmed its right to peacefully pursue nuclear energy.
Under the JCPOA – signed by Iran, the United States, China, Russia and the EU – Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. But the agreement unravelled in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump pulled out and reimposed unilateral sanctions.
Tensions escalated further earlier this summer, when Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran, with Israeli and US forces striking several nuclear facilities.
“It was the United States that unilaterally tore up the agreement in 2018, reimposing sanctions in open defiance of this Council. It was the E3 that failed to meet their obligations, hiding behind empty promises while quietly following Washington’s lead and instructions,” said Iravani.
“This contradiction between their rhetoric and actions proves, once more, their real intention is not diplomacy but escalation,” he added.
Stephen Quillen and News Agencies
Iran calls action by UN Security
Council ‘unlawful’ as nine member countries vote against nuclear sanctions
relief.
The United Nations Security
Council has voted not to permanently lift economic sanctions on Iran over its
nuclear programme, delivering a major economic blow that Tehran claims is
“politically biased”.
Russia, China, Pakistan and Algeria voted to stop the sanctions from being reintroduced, while nine UNSC members voted against sanctions relief. Two countries abstained.
The vote follows a 30-day process launched in late August by Britain, France and Germany – known as the E3 – to reinstate sanctions unless Tehran meets their demands.
“Today’s action is hasty, unnecessary and unlawful. Iran recognises no obligation to implement it,” Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN, said at the session on Friday.
“Any attempt by the E3 to reimpose sanctions already terminated is not only baseless but a direct assault on international law and the credibility of the Security Council itself,” he said.
“This travesty unfolds against the backdrop of blatant aggression,” he added, referring to Israel and the United States’s attacks on his country’s nuclear facilities during June’s 12-day war.
The council, Iravani added, had “squandered an opportunity for dialogue and consensus”.
Iran says Europeans ‘misusing JCPOA mechanism’
Iranian officials have accused the European trio of abusing the dispute mechanism contained in the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which allows for the application of sanctions under a “snapback mechanism”.
“What Europeans are doing is politically biased and politically motivated … They are wrong on different levels by trying to misuse the mechanism embedded in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said before the vote.
The Europeans offered to delay the snapback for up to six months if Iran restored access for UN nuclear inspectors and engaged in talks with the US.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that Tehran had presented a “reasonable and actionable plan” and insisted Iran remains committed to the NPT.
But the E3 accuse Tehran of breaching their nuclear commitments, including by building up a uranium stockpile of more than 40 times the level permitted under the JCPOA. The UN’s nuclear watchdog board also ruled back in June that Iran was not respecting international nuclear safeguards.
“However slim, there is still a possibility of diplomatic engagement to fix this already complicated issue,” said Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran.
But today’s vote adds another “layer of complexity” and puts Iran “on the very brink” of deeper sanctions that would compound pressure on its economy, he added.
‘Clock is ticking for high-level diplomacy’
The UNSC vote allowing sanctions to snap back is not the complete “end of negotiations,” as the parties have just over a week to come up with a last-ditch deal, said Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN.
“It’s the week where world leaders are all here in New York for the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, so it sets the stage for high-level diplomacy between Iran and particularly the three European countries,” said Bays. But “we’re reaching the end of this high-stakes diplomacy, and the clock really is ticking.”
Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons but affirmed its right to peacefully pursue nuclear energy.
Under the JCPOA – signed by Iran, the United States, China, Russia and the EU – Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. But the agreement unravelled in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump pulled out and reimposed unilateral sanctions.
Tensions escalated further earlier this summer, when Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran, with Israeli and US forces striking several nuclear facilities.
“It was the United States that unilaterally tore up the agreement in 2018, reimposing sanctions in open defiance of this Council. It was the E3 that failed to meet their obligations, hiding behind empty promises while quietly following Washington’s lead and instructions,” said Iravani.
“This contradiction between their rhetoric and actions proves, once more, their real intention is not diplomacy but escalation,” he added.
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