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In letter to UN chief: Iran, China, Russia affirm termination of UNSC Resolution 2231
Iran, China, and Russia in a joint letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday affirmed the termination of Security Council Resolution 2231 concerning Iran’s nuclear program on October 18, 2025, which marks the end of the 15-member body’s consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue.
The three countries said they "affirm that in accordance with operative paragraph 8 of Resolution 2231, all it's provisions are terminated after 18 October 2025."
The date, therefore, “marks the end of the Security Council’s consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue,” the countries’ envoys added.
The resolution, which endorsed the historic 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, mandated suspension of nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal— signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — saw the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
The United States, though, left the deal and reimposed its sanctions in an illegal and unilateral move in 2018. The US’s European allies then succumbed to American pressure, suspending their own trade with Iran, besides betraying a pledge to return Washington to the deal.
The overall Western bid has been focusing on allegations of Iranian nuclear activities’ “diversion,” claims that have never been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite its most intrusive inspections to date.
Earlier this year, the European states – namely the UK, France, and Germany – tried their hand at triggering the “snapback” mechanism that led to restoration of the sanctions late last month.
The letter reminded that the trio had no legal right to have the sanctions restored in light of their own non-commitment to the JCPOA.
“The E3, having themselves ceased to perform their commitments under both the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 and also failing to exhaust the procedures of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM), lacks the standing to invoke its provisions.”
The envoys, meanwhile, noted that the Security Council’s adherence to the resolution’s expiration date would “contribute to strengthening the authority of the Council and the credibility of multilateral diplomacy.”
The diplomats finally called on all parties to create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for diplomatic efforts.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry in a separate statement on Saturday said that all provisions of the Resolution 2231 are to be considered terminated from now on as a ten-year period set out in the resolution came to an end on October 18.
The ministry said that Iran is no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear program as the landmark 10-year deal expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy.”