UN Security Council rejects resolution to extend Iran sanctions relief

Iran’s nuclear program has received a significant economic blow that Tehran claims is “politically biased” thanks to the UN Security Council’s decision to end all economic sanctions on Iran.

By a vote of 4 to 9, a resolution to halt the sanctions was approved by the Security Council on Friday, which means that if no significant agreement is reached in advance, European sanctions will be reinstated by September 28.

Nine UNSC members voted against sanctions relief, while nine of them voted against them being lifted. Two nations voted not in.

The E3 launched a 30-day process to reinstate sanctions unless Tehran fulfills its demands in late August, and the vote followed.

Iran claims that Europeans are “using the JCPOA mechanism.”

Iranian officials accuse the European trio of violating the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which enables the application of sanctions through a “snapback mechanism.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed that the actions taken by Europeans are “politically biased and politically motivated.” “They are wrong on many levels by trying to use the mechanism that is contained in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “.

If Iran restored access to UN nuclear inspectors and started discussions with the US, the Europeans offered to delay the snapback for up to six months.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, asserted that Tehran had put forth a “reasonable and actionable plan” and that it is still committed to the NPT.

Tehran is accused by the E3 of breaking nuclear agreements, including putting up more than 40 times the JCPOA’s permitted uranium stockpile. Iran’s nuclear watchdog board at the UN’s request in June also led to a ruling that violated international nuclear safeguards.

The “clock is ticking for high-level diplomacy”

According to Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays, who reports from the UN, the UNSC vote that allows sanctions to be lifted does not imply the parties have reached a final agreement after just over a week of negotiations.

The high-level diplomacy between Iran and, particularly the three European countries, is made possible by the week’s leaders gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting, according to Bays. However, “the clock is ticking and this high-stakes diplomacy is about to end.”

Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief under the JCPOA, which Iran, the United States, China, Russia, and the EU all signed. However, the agreement broke down in 2018 when US President Donald Trump stepped down and reinstituted unilateral sanctions.

Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran earlier this summer, with Israeli and US forces striking a number of nuclear facilities, which further raised the tensions.