UN reimposes nuke sanctions on Tehran after delay resolution fails

The United Nations sanctions on Iran are set to be reimposed on Saturday. This was stated by Britain’s UN envoy on Friday after a Russian and Chinese Security Council resolution to delay these sanctions failed, prompting Tehran to warn that the West bore responsibility for any consequences.

The decision to restore sanctions by Western powers is likely to exacerbate tensions with Tehran, which has already warned that the action would be met with a harsh response and open the door to escalation.

The Russian and Chinese push to delay the return of sanctions on Iran failed at the 15-member UN Security Council after only four countries supported their draft resolution.

“This council does not have the necessary assurance that there is a clear path to a swift diplomatic solution,” Britain’s envoy to the UN, Barbara Wood, said after the vote. “This council fulfilled the necessary steps of the snapback process set out in resolution 2231, therefore UN sanctions targeting Iranian proliferation will be reimposed this weekend,” she said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had no intention to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a reaction to the revival of the UN sanctions. “Iran will never seek nuclear weapons. We are fully prepared to be transparent about our highly enriched uranium,” Pezeshkian said. All UN sanctions on Iran are due to return on Saturday after European powers — known as the E3, triggered a 30-day process accusing Tehran of violating a 2015 deal meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Diplomats had said the resolution to delay sanctions for six months had been unlikely to pass, after last-ditch talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany failed to break a deadlock. Nine countries voted no, while two abstained. Following what it said was European states’ “irresponsible” reinstatement of the snapback mechanism, Iran recalled on Saturday its ambassadors to Germany, France and the United Kingdom for consultation, state media reported. Russia’s deputy envoy to the United Nations accused the Western powers of burying the diplomatic path.

“The US has betrayed diplomacy, but it is the E3 which have buried it,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the council, saying the snapback was “legally void, politically reckless and procedurally flawed”. “Diplomacy will never die, but it will be more difficult and more complicated than before,” he told reporters after the Security Council meeting.

The European powers had offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months to allow space for talks on a long-term deal if Iran restored access for UN nuclear inspectors, addressed concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engaged in talks with the US. The US representative at the council said Iran had failed to address E3 concerns, meaning a return of sanctions was inevitable, although she left the door open for diplomacy.