Russia, China Reject UN Security Council Meeting on Iran

By Staff, Agencies

Russia and China opposed a Western-backed UN Security Council meeting on Iran on Friday, arguing that UN Security Council Resolution 2231 expired in October 2025 and that the Council no longer has any mandate to consider Tehran's nuclear file.

The meeting was convened at the request of the European members of the Security Council despite objections from Moscow and Beijing. It proceeded after a procedural vote passed with 11 members in favor, two against, and two abstentions.

The session marked the third Security Council meeting on Iran's nuclear issue since Resolution 2231 expired. Two previous meetings held in March and June this year concluded without any formal outcome.

Resolution 2231, adopted in 2015 to endorse the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 powers, expired on October 18, 2025.

Iran, Russia, and China maintain that the expiration of the resolution ended all related provisions, restrictions, and Security Council responsibilities, leaving the Council without any legal authority over Iran's nuclear program.

The three countries have also argued that attempts by Britain, France, and Germany to invoke the so-called "snapback" mechanism are legally and procedurally invalid because the resolution has already terminated.

Addressing the Security Council before the meeting, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Anna Evstigneyeva, said Resolution 2231 no longer has operational force and that the Council has had no mandate to discuss related matters since October 17, 2025.

She accused some Council members of disregarding established UN procedures by repeatedly convening meetings on an issue that is no longer on the Security Council's agenda for political purposes.

Evstigneyeva also said Russia rejects what it described as unjustified attempts to escalate tensions with Iran or use the Security Council as a platform for political confrontation, adding that claims the "snapback" mechanism had been activated have no legal basis.

China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sun Lei, echoed Moscow's position, stating that Resolution 2231 expired on October 18, 2025, bringing the Security Council's consideration of Iran's nuclear issue to a close.

Sun argued that repeated efforts to hold Security Council meetings on an issue that has already left the Council's agenda undermine the atmosphere necessary for diplomatic negotiations.

He also warned that increasing politicization within the Security Council is deepening divisions among member states and creating additional obstacles to reaching a political solution.