In a letter to UN chief:
Iran, Russia, China reaffirm end of UN Resolution 2231
Iran, China, and Russia in a joint letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the termination of Security Council Resolution 2231 concerning the Iranian nuclear program, saying that the top body’s adherence to the resolution’s expiration date would “contribute to strengthening its authority.”
“In accordance with operative paragraph 8 of Resolution 2231, all its provisions are terminated after 18 October 2025,” said the letter, penned by the trio’s diplomatic missions to the United Nations.
The date, therefore, “marks the end of the Security Council’s consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue,” the note added.
The letter comes as Guterres is expected to present a report to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the implementation of the resolution, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, known as the JCPOA.
Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, who chairs the UNSC, said on Monday that the 15-member body would receive the report this month and a meeting would likely be called afterward.
Resolution 2231 mandated suspension of nuclear-related sanctions against Iran after it was unanimously ratified in 2015.
The United States unilaterally walked out of the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed and reinforced its sanctions and forced the European parties to the deal – France, Germany and Britain (E3) – to abide by them.
On August 28, the European trio instigated the so-called snapback mechanism – officially called the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) – under the nuclear agreement, which led to reimposition of international sanctions on Iran.
The joint letter reminded that the three European nations had no legal right to have the sanctions restored due to their own non-commitment to the historic accord.
“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 DRM, lacks the standing to invoke its provisions.”
The letter was referring to the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the agreement and the European trio’s suspending their trade with Iran despite their commitments under the deal.
Iran, China, and Russia noted that the Security Council’s adherence to the resolution’s expiration date “contributes to strengthening the authority of the Council and the credibility of multilateral diplomacy.”