Iran, China, Russia Tell UN Security Council Nuclear Case Is Closed

In a joint letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the three countries’ ambassadors emphasized that all provisions of Resolution 2231 expired in October, marking the termination of UN oversight tied to the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The resolution’s expiration also nullified earlier UNSC measures that had imposed nuclear-related sanctions on Iran based on Western and Israeli accusations regarding its atomic program. However, ahead of the expiration, the UK, France and Germany attempted to trigger the deal’s “snapback” mechanism—a move encouraged by the United States.

Tehran, Beijing and Moscow rejected the effort as legally baseless, and the envoys reaffirmed in their letter that these states had no standing to invoke the mechanism due to their own prior breaches of the accord.

They cited the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 agreement in 2018 and the European trio’s suspension of trade with Iran, both in violation of their obligations, adding that international law does not allow parties to claim rights from an agreement they themselves have violated.

Iran’s Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani—who co-signed the letter with China’s Fu Cong and Russia’s Vasily Nebenzia—underscored Iran’s ongoing commitment to ensuring its nuclear program remains peaceful and to continuing diplomatic engagement.