Security Council divided as China, Russia veto Iran sanctions panel extension

The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to adopt a US-drafted resolution that would have extended the mandate of a panel of experts monitoring sanctions on Iran, after China and Russia vetoed the measure.

The draft received 11 votes in favor, with China and Russia voting against and two members abstaining. It sought to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts supporting the 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee until September 2027.

The committee and its expert panel had been suspended under Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted in 2015 to endorse the Iran nuclear deal. The UK, France and Germany last year triggered a "snapback" mechanism, arguing that the move restored previous UN sanctions and revived the committee and its expert panel.

China and Russia dispute the validity of the snapback and said that Resolution 2231 expired in October 2025, meaning the previous sanctions regime and its subsidiary bodies were not restored.

"Security Council Resolution 2231 expired on Oct 18, 2025, and the Security Council has ended its consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue," Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, told the Council.

"Disregarding these facts, forcing through the restoration of sanctions against Iran in the Security Council, and putting forward an obviously controversial draft resolution will only undermine the unity and credibility of the Council and create obstacles to diplomatic effort," Fu said, adding that China firmly opposed the move.

Fu said that as the situation in the Middle East and negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue "remain deeply deadlocked", the Security Council should "play a constructive role in promoting negotiations and easing tensions, rather than becoming a platform for individual members to engage in political confrontation and exert pressure".

Fu said China calls on the countries concerned to fully implement the measures related to the "Termination Day" under Resolution 2231, "uphold the authority of the Security Council and the credibility of multilateral diplomacy, and create the necessary conditions for a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue".

The dispute over the snapback has effectively paralyzed the committee since its purported restoration last year. The Council has been unable to agree on a chair for the committee, preventing it from convening and conducting substantive work.

France, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for September, convened a briefing last week on the work of the 1737 Iran Sanctions Committee. China and Russia opposed holding the meeting, but the Council adopted the provisional agenda by 11 votes in favor to two against, with two abstentions.

"The president of the Security Council should also respect the concerns of all parties, promote greater unity and cooperation within the Council and enable it to play its proper role, while avoiding actions that could further aggravate differences and divisions," Fu said.

Fu said the immediate priority amid the conflict in the Middle East is to urge the parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint, cease the use or threat of force, ease tensions, and create the necessary conditions for the parties to restore and implement a ceasefire, return to negotiations and reach a peace agreement, "thereby safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond".