UN sanctions vote aggravates factional feuds in Tehran

The resolution, tabled by South Korea in its role as Security Council president, was a procedural part of a process launched last month after Britain, France, and Germany triggered the so-called snapback mechanism, declaring Iran in “significant non-performance” of the 2015 nuclear deal.

The decision not to lift Iran sanctions means all pre-2015 UN sanctions on Iran will automatically return once the 30-day snapback period ends on September 28, unless the Security Council takes further action.

Iran along with permanent Security Council members Russia and China lambasted the vote on Friday as a blow to diplomacy.

Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia voted to lift Iran sanctions. Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, Britain, and the United States voted against the resolution while Guyana and South Korea abstained.

Acting US Representative to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said the European troika was right to pursue sanctions given what she called Iran's clear violations.

“In July, the E3 offered to extend the snapback mechanism if Iran were to take steps to address concerns regarding its highly enriched uranium stockpile, comply with its IAEA obligations, and resume direct diplomacy with the United States," Shea said. "Despite suggestions to the contrary from Iran and others, Tehran has not yet fulfilled those conditions."

The resolution outcome does "not impede the possibility of real diplomacy,” Shea added, without elaborating.

'Unlawful'

Iran blasted the move, calling it “hasty, unnecessary, and unlawful”.

“Iran's safeguarded nuclear facilities have been attacked not in secret, but openly by Israel, the rogue regime, and by the United States,” Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said.

He was referring to a 12-day surprise military campaign by Israel which was capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. “This reckless step undermines dialogue without aggression and sets a dangerous precedent,” Iravani added.

The Iranian envoy said Tehran never rejected diplomacy, presenting the recent agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to advance resumed international inspections of nuclear sites as evidence.

In a phone call with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized what he called a politicized move that ignored Tehran's good faith approach.

“Araghchi stressed that Iran, as a responsible country, has always pursued the path of diplomacy and technical cooperation to resolve issues related to its nuclear program and rejects any political measures or unfair pressure that could escalate tensions,” his ministry added in a statement.

Britain's permanent representative to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, questioned Iran's nuclear motives but said it was open to talks.

“The United Kingdom is committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution to ensure that Iran shall never seek, acquire or develop a nuclear weapon,” Woodward said.

“That is why, on August 28, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany notified this Council of Iran's clear and deliberate non-compliance,” she added.

Russia and China opposed

Moscow and Beijing have grown closer to Tehran as their relations with Washington have frayed in recent years. Their envoys castigated the Western position.

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, raised doubts about the move by the three European countries, warning it might inflame the long standoff

“China maintains that under such circumstances, hastily pushing for a vote on the draft resolution might exacerbate confrontation further and is not conducive to the resolution of the issue,” Fu Cong said.

Despite defense and economic agreements with Iran, Russia and China offered little substantive support to Iran as it confronted Israel and the United States over the summer.

More willing to exert pressure on Iran at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal, the two superpowers have broken with Western countries by mending fences with another international atomic pariah, North Korea.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, said the sanctions bid violated a 2015 nuclear deal.

“Britain, France, and Germany grossly violated the procedure for the consideration of disputed situations we have under the JCPOA in particular,” Nebenzya said. “Here you have a very good illustration of the fact that our European colleagues do, in essence, reject diplomacy. They prefer the language of blackmail and intimidation.”

Long an advocate of more international pressure on Iran at the United Nations, Israel celebrated a diplomatic win.

Israel's Ambassador to the UN hailed the Security Council's decision, calling it “another step forward towards imposing sanctions on the Iranian regime.”

“It is good that the world has woken up and joined the fight against Tehran’s violence and terrorism toward the Western world. The State of Israel will not allow a nuclear threat from Iran,” Danny Danon said.

The social media spat comes as Israel steps up its Persian language rhetoric, in an apparent bid to communicate with Iranians it views as disaffected and sympathetic to its stated preference for regime change in Tehran.

In a video posted Friday on X, IDF spokesperson Kamal Penhasi responded to remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who had said the world was coming to understand “the crimes of the Zionist regime.”

“The biggest criminal entity is the Islamic Republic. A regime that, from the first day of the revolution, executed the best commanders and officers of the army,” Penhasi said. “It has killed elderly, youth, and children during civil protests in the streets.”

“It has sentenced thousands of innocent Iranians to the gallows or imprisoned them in its dungeons for absurd charges,” he added. “A government that exports its destructive policies through proxy groups across the world no longer has any credibility.”

Over 900 executions occurred in 2024, the highest since 2015, with August 2025 witnessing an unprecedented wave, including political prisoners and public hangings.

Rights monitors report that political prisoners and protesters have also been executed, while arbitrary arrests, torture, forced confessions and unfair trials continue, particularly against activists and journalists associated with the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

Gaza health authorities said this week that Israel's incursion into Gaza over nearly two years of war with Iran-backed Hamas fighters has killed over 65,000 Palestinians.

Israel accused of seeking regime change

The head of Iran’s Army Strategic Studies and Research Center, Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan, alleged on Friday that Israel is intent on overthrowing the Islamic Republic.

“In the 12-day war, the enemy was caught off guard. I tell you with evidence, they had come to celebrate victory; they had prepared a victory anthem for Tehran to broadcast on July 1,” Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said, as cited by Iranian state media.

Pourdastan claimed the United States supported Israel during the conflict by providing missile intercept coordinates from its Central Command.

“Upon launch, the missile gained initial altitude and was immediately detected by CENTCOM radars in Qatar. The missile’s path was tracked, and they quickly informed the Israelis,” he said.

Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13, 2025, striking military and nuclear facilities in Iran. Air attacks killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iran retaliated with drone and missile attacks which killed 31 Israeli civilians and one off-duty soldier.

The United States joined the conflict on June 22, conducting strikes on major nuclear sites including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, before brokering a ceasefire on June 24.

Pourdastan insisted that Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes forced Washington to seek an end to the fighting.

“Even Trump requested a ceasefire. By God, they were scared. After Iran’s missile response, Witkoff called Mr. Araghchi and said, ‘Stop, don’t strike anymore,’” he said.

The charge came from prominent politician Hossein Marashi, head of the centrist Construction Party, who on Wednesday accused ultraconservatives of striking a discordant note on matters of foreign policy and national security.

“(They) cannot bring themselves to act within the overall framework of the political system,” Marashi told the centrist outlet Khabar Online.

“Either their level of understanding is very low, or they fail to grasp that the president, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and the foreign minister do not speak, decide, or act without careful calculation and coordination with the system’s general policies.”

The “system,” in official parlance, refers to the supreme leader.

When asked if hardliners’ attacks on the moderate administration should be seen as an indirect challenge to Khamenei himself, Marashi said: “I think those in parliament are capable of slighting the Leader even.”

Araghchi under fire

Since Israeli and US strikes on Iran in June, Tehran moderates inside and outside president Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration have been advocating direct negotiations with Washington.

Yet some have also begun questioning the chief protagonist of diplomacy, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, urging that he be replaced by former nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.

Replacing Araghchi, however, appears unrealistic.

On September 18, Hadi Borhani, an expert on Israeli affairs, suggested instead that the president appoint Salehi as his plenipotentiary envoy for regional affairs.

But it is unclear what Salehi could do that Araghchi cannot: decisions are made by the SNSC and ultimately by the supreme leader.

Moderates appear to be playing the same game they accuse hardliners of—shooting the messenger when the author of the message is untouchable.

'MPs abusing powers'

That may explain some of their broader criticisms of the foreign ministry.

Prominent centrist and former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi argued on Thursday that the ministry remains dominated by hardliners from the previous administration.

“Only two or three individuals from Amir-Abdollahian and Raisi’s team have been replaced in the current government,” he told Khabar Online, referring to the late foreign minister and president killed in a helicopter crash in May 2024.

The harshest attacks, however, are reserved for rival hardliners in parliament.

“What these lawmakers do to government officials is beyond their official mandate and amounts to abuse,” Karbaschi said, accusing MPs of putting factional feuds above national interests with their impeachment threats.

The ultraconservatives summoned Araghchi over his Cairo agreement with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, a move Karbaschi likened to stretching oversight powers to the point of undermining national security.

“He hasn’t done badly, but his efforts haven’t led to any breakthrough,” Karbaschi said of Araghchi’s record.

The draft resolution—co-sponsored by China, Russia, and a group of nations including Cuba and Venezuela—condemned the June 2025 Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

“Guided by the spirit of goodwill and constructive engagement, and at the request of several member states,” Tehran had deferred action until next year, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Reza Najafi told the General Conference on Thursday.

Iran and the other sponsors of the resolution do not wish to place member states in a position of endorsing an unrealistic decision, he said.

The issue will be raised again at the next session of the IAEA General Conference, according to the Permanent Mission of the of Iran.

The withdrawal also comes as France, Germany and the UK have invoked the snapback mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran under resolution 2231. That process is expected to conclude by September 28 unless the Security Council adopts a resolution to preserve sanctions relief.

This comes against a backdrop of escalating tensions, triggered by Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites in June, followed by US attacks on three additional facilities.

However, Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the sanctions process was “a done deal,” adding that “The latest news we had from the Iranians is not serious.”

South Korea, as Council president this month, placed the text in blue earlier in September. It contains a single operative paragraph affirming that past sanctions remain terminated, meaning adoption would preserve relief measures under resolution 2231.

European ministers said in an August 28 letter that Iran’s actions left no credible alternative to triggering the mechanism. They pointed to more than 8,400 kilograms of enriched uranium—forty times the agreed limit—including several hundred kilograms enriched to 60 percent. “Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of resolution 2231,” the German Foreign Office said Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the E3 move while stressing continued room for diplomacy in late August. The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran in “furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue,” Rubio said.

Council divisions

China, Russia, and Pakistan are expected to support the draft resolution. Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Slovenia, the Republic of Korea, the UK, and the US are unlikely to back it, leaving the text short of the nine votes needed for passage. Even if it reached that threshold, the US is expected to veto.

If no resolution is adopted, sanctions suspended since 2015 will automatically return at the end of the 30-day window on September 28. That would reinstate restrictions on uranium enrichment, arms, finance, and shipping linked to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Negotiations may continue during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, where China and Russia have circulated an alternative draft extending the deal until April 2026.