TEHRAN- China and Russia have jointly rejected renewed Western pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, challenging the legal and political basis of efforts to revive sanctions and bring the Iranian nuclear issue back under the scrutiny of the United Nations Security Council.

The positions were voiced during a Security Council meeting on Iran’s nuclear program on September 10, a day after the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution introduced by the United States, Britain, France and Germany that referred Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council over 'alleged non-compliance' with its safeguards' obligations.

The Security Council agreed to place the Iranian nuclear issue on its agenda by a vote of 11 in favor, with China and Russia voting against and two members abstaining.  China and Russia, however, used the meeting to reaffirm their opposition to the reimposition of sanctions against Iran and to the so-called snapback mechanism.

China and Russia reject snapback

According to Al Jazeera, China’s representative at the meeting warned that insisting on restoring sanctions against Iran could endanger international peace and security.

The Chinese envoy said Beijing supported Russia’s statement and maintained that the snapback mechanism had expired.

“We believe that the snapback has come to an end, and we are witnessing the sunset of the JCPOA,” he said, expressing regret that some Security Council members continued to insist on the issue.

He warned that such measures could not only complicate relations among UN members and within the Security Council but could also undermine international peace and security.

Russia’s representative likewise reiterated Moscow’s opposition to resolutions targeting Iran and said the snapback mechanism had expired.

The Russian envoy said Moscow supported China’s position on the issue, again stressing that the mechanism had reached its end and that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was entering its “sunset.”

The coordinated positions of Beijing and Moscow place them at odds with the United States and the three European parties to the JCPOA — Britain, France and Germany — which have sought to intensify international pressure on Iran over its peaceful nuclear activities.

Iran challenges Security Council proceedings

Iran, for its part, has rejected the renewed proceedings as legally and politically unfounded.

Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s ambassador and chargé d’affaires to the United Nations, said the Security Council meeting on Iran’s nuclear file constituted an abuse of the Council’s procedures and authority.

In a letter circulated to the Council president Darzi said Iran categorically rejected “unfounded allegations and distortions” concerning its peaceful nuclear program.

He argued that UN Security Council Resolution 2231 expired on October 18, 2025, and that all nuclear-related provisions, measures and restrictions associated with the resolution were therefore terminated.

Darzi also disputed the legal basis for the European powers’ attempt to invoke the snapback mechanism, arguing that the E3 had failed to meet their own obligations under both the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 and therefore lacked the legal standing to activate the mechanism.

Iran’s envoy further attributed the current nuclear dispute to 'unlawful US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s peaceful and safeguarded nuclear facilities.'

He argued that attacks against safeguarded nuclear sites had seriously undermined confidence in the international safeguards system and the broader nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Darzi maintained that the renewed allegations against Iran were political rather than technical, pointing to Iran’s membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty since 1970 and its long-standing engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He said Iran had been subject to extensive IAEA monitoring for nearly 25 years and stressed that the agency had reported no diversion of nuclear material in Iran.

The Iranian envoy called on the IAEA to remain impartial, professional, independent and non-political, arguing that political pressure could not replace an objective assessment of safeguards obligations.

Iran denounces IAEA resolution

Darzi also sharply criticized the IAEA Board of Governors’ resolution adopted on September 9, describing it as a politically driven measure backed by the United States and the E3.

The resolution was adopted by 23 votes in favor, three against and eight abstentions. Russia, China and Niger voted against it.

The measure was introduced by the United States, Britain, France and Germany and referred Iran’s nuclear file to the United Nations Security Council over alleged non-compliance with its safeguards obligations.

Iran has rejected the resolution, arguing that it fails to meet the requirements of objectivity and impartiality and does not address the attacks on its safeguarded nuclear facilities.

Darzi said the IAEA Board’s latest action, like previous resolutions, was silent on 'unlawful attacks' by the United States and Israel against its nuclear installations.

He warned that Security Council procedures should not be used to advance politically motivated or unsubstantiated allegations against UN member states or to provide political cover for 'unlawful acts.'

Iran has therefore called on the Security Council to adhere strictly to the UN Charter and international law and to reject attempts to politicize its procedures and mechanisms.

The dispute now moves into a more consequential diplomatic phase, with Iran rejecting the legal basis of the renewed Security Council proceedings, China and Russia opposing the restoration of sanctions and the snapback mechanism, and the United States and the E3 pressing ahead with efforts to place Iran’s nuclear activities back at the center of the Council’s agenda.