On Thursday, Russia and China voted against a resolution in the UN Security Council that would have allowed UN experts to monitor the renewed sanctions imposed on Iran due to the country's nuclear program. These sanctions, which were reinstated last year, include freezing Iranian assets abroad, halting arms contracts with Tehran, and penalizing the development of Iran's ballistic missile program.
Details of the sanctions and resolution
The Security Council sanctions were reinstated following the use of the "snapback" mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, including France, Germany, and the UK. This mechanism was activated on September 27, 2025, reviving the Security Council sanctions committee and allowing a group of UN experts to monitor the implementation of the sanctions.
The United States had prepared a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN expert group for one year, which failed with a vote of 11-2, and the countries Somalia and Pakistan also abstained from voting. This action comes as the US government is trying to isolate Tehran from its remaining economic partners, while the war in Iran has reached a stalemate after more than six months.
Impact of the veto on the resolution and officials' comments
In this context, the US Treasury and State Department announced that they targeted two companies — Bitbank and the leading e-commerce company Simorgh — and three associates of former Bitbank president Babak Zanjani, who are accused of helping Iran evade sanctions.
At the UN, Iran's representation thanked Russia and China for vetoing the resolution and stated in a social media message that these countries "prevented the cunning efforts of the United States and its allies to exploit the Security Council for their political goals."
The US Permanent Representative to the UN, Jennifer Luesta, stated that the US was not surprised by the vetoes and added that this action is part of a broader effort to prevent expert monitoring of the sanctions. Luesta warned that without an independent group of experts, the Security Council loses its main source of impartial and evidence-based reports on sanctions violations.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, reiterated Moscow's claim that the "snapback" of sanctions against Iran is illegal and stated that the resolution to extend the expert group's mandate is "severely flawed and lacks any legal basis."
