The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has rejected a joint proposal by China and Russia seeking to extend Iran’s sanctions relief for six months under the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The draft resolution failed as it did not secure the required nine votes.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi strongly criticised the outcome, while thanking China, Russia, Pakistan, and Algeria for backing the proposal. He also praised Guyana and South Korea for choosing not to oppose it, calling their position “the right side of history.”
Araghchi placed blame for the current impasse on the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA and accused European powers, France, the UK, and Germany (the E3), of failing to uphold their commitments. “The US betrayed diplomacy, but it was the E3 that buried it,” he declared, adding that both Washington and its European allies acted in bad faith by blocking genuine diplomatic efforts.
China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, also addressed the Council, warning that abandoning diplomacy risks worsening instability in the Middle East. He said maximum pressure and the use of force have historically failed to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. Geng urged the US to show political will by responding to Tehran’s readiness for talks and by halting military escalations.
Amid ongoing conflict in Gaza and wider regional unrest, observers fear that a breakdown in the Iran nuclear issue could trigger another security crisis with global repercussions.
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