TEHRAN – Iran, Russia, and China appeared to react to the West’s ongoing attempts to leverage the already battered and now expired JCPOA as a pressure tool against Iran when their UN ambassadors, in a joint letter, reminded that all provisions of UNSC Resolution 2231—the resolution endorsing the JCPOA— were terminated after October 18, 2025, under Operative Paragraph 8 of that resolution.

The letter, sent to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General on Tuesday, also reiterated the three countries' commitment to continued cooperation with UNSC member states.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, the People’s Republic of China and the Russia Federation remain fully committed to continuing their constructive diplomatic partnership with all members of the council, and announce their readiness to support collective efforts to safeguard the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” wrote the top three diplomats.

For nearly two decades, Iran's peaceful nuclear program has been met with relentless opposition from the West. Pressure came in many forms, endless negotiations that went nowhere, punishing sanctions and even military aggression.

When the United States struck Iranian nuclear sites during the illegal U.S.-Israeli military aggression in June, the European trio, France, Germany and Britain, stepped in with their own strategy, activating the so-called snapback mechanism. 

"Snapback" was a mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, designed to automatically reinstate UN sanctions against Iran if it violated the terms of the JCPOA, a nuclear agreement signed by Iran, the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China in 2015. Under its terms, Iran committed to limiting its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. However, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the deal and re-imposed sanctions in 2018. European signatories said Iran must continue adhering to the JCPOA, despite their inability to compel Washington's return or mitigate the debilitating impact of its sanctions. 

The E3 triggered the countdown for the automatic return of UN sanctions on Iran in August. While welcomed by Washington and Tel Aviv, the move failed to materialize in practice when Russia and China declared they would not recognize the snapback of UN sanctions. This stance was echoed by over 120 other countries, which voiced support for Iran during a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference held in Uganda. The legal basis for re-imposing pre-JCPOA UN sanctions was further undermined after Resolution 2231 officially expired in October. Iran, Russia, and China noted the expiry in a separate letter to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General.

In their recent joint letter, the ambassadors of the three countries also urged all relevant parties to remain committed to working out a “political solution that would allay the concerns of all parties through engagement and political dialog based on the principles of mutual respect and to avoid resorting to force or any other action that might escalate the current situation.”