Iranian foreign ministry urges further diplomacy and says return to pre-2015 measures are unlawful and unfounded
The UN security council failed to pass a resolution on Friday that would have prevented the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme before the deadline for the “snapping back” of punitive measures.
UN sanctions on Iran are set to be re-established at the end of the month unless the nine-member security council agrees to further extend sanctions relief. Friday’s resolution, put forth by South Korea, only received support from four countries – China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria.
The vote is likely to further strain relations between Iran and the west. Under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, any member of the agreement can call to snapback UN sanctions within 30 days if it considers Iran to not be in compliance with its terms. This would automatically re-impose all UN sanctions placed on Iran before 2015, which include an arms embargo, asset freezes and travel bans.
Last month, France, Germany and the UK triggered the snapback provision of the deal after Iran refused to cooperate with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, which is tasked with monitoring implementation of the deal.
