Pursuant to its veto initiative , speakers in the General Assembly today weighed in on the vetoes recently cast by China and the Russian Federation concerning a Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring implementation of United Nations sanctions on Iran.
At the centre of this issue is disagreement among the Council's permanent members over whether UN sanctions are in effect against Iran. According to the Council-endorsed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a "snapback" mechanism would automatically reinstate these sanctions in the event of non-compliance. Countries' positions as to whether this mechanism has been triggered diverge, and this issue has divided the Council for over a year.
Noting that the Council's deliberations revealed "significant" differences, Khalilur Rahman (Bangladesh), President of the General Assembly at its eighty-first session, stressed that "it is precisely when positions diverge most sharply that dialogue and diplomacy become most indispensable". He therefore urged those present to use this debate to "promote transparency and accountability, clarify positions and, above all, help identify a constructive path forward".
For her part, the representative of the Russian Federation stated that the Council concluded its consideration of the Iranian nuclear programme on 18 October 2025, the same day that resolution 2231 (2015) expired. Because of that, she said that the draft resolution considered by the Council on 17 September "simply lacks the legal basis and even lacks a subject", adding: "Therefore, we were faced with no option apart from challenging that document."
China's representative said that the current impasse arises from the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, its campaign of "maximum pressure" against Iran and its "two rounds of strikes against Iran in the midst of negotiations". Further, the invocation of the "snapback" mechanism is "legally and procedurally flawed", he said, stating that resolution 2231 (2015) has expired and that the Council has "ended its consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue".
However, the representative of the United States said that "the UN's own sanctions website today, as we speak, couldn't be clearer - sanctions were re-applied on 27 September 2025". He declared: "The snapback process was triggered, the Council considered whether sanctions relief should continue, the Council did not extend that relief, and - exactly as resolution 2231 (2015) provided - the previous UN sanctions automatically came back into force."
Vetoes Cast by China, Russian Federation 'Principled and Necessary'
Iran's representative, meanwhile, said that the attempt to revive the Panel of Experts of the "illegitimate 1737 Committee " was "politically motivated, legally unfounded and cynical". Thus, the vetoes cast by China and the Russian Federation were "principled and necessary acts defending the UN Charter, international law and the integrity and authority of the Security Council against its abuse", he emphasized.
He underscored: "The repeated claim that Iran's nuclear programme is being diverted to military objectives is a false narrative, first concocted by the Israeli regime in 2003 and repeatedly parroted by the United States and certain European countries." Stating that the Council has concluded its consideration of this issue, he added that, "while Iran pursued diplomacy in good faith, the United States chose aggression".
Without Enforcement, Sanctions 'Merely Words on Paper'
Israel's representative asked: "Who benefits when the oversight disappears?" She said that, for decades, Iran has advanced its military nuclear programme while deceiving the international community and exploiting diplomacy to buy time. The latest findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicate that more than nine tons of nuclear material - including 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium - have remained outside the Agency's safeguards for more than a year.
Further, she pointed out that the IAEA Board of Governors decided to report Iran's non-compliance to both the Council and the Assembly on 9 September. Urging the Council to restore effective oversight via the 1737 Committee and its Panel of Experts, she stressed: "Without enforcement, sanctions are merely words on paper."
Broad Calls for Oversight, Maintenance of Security Council's Transparency
Other speakers agreed on the need for oversight. The representative of Finland, also speaking for Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, said that the Panel of Experts has served as the "eyes and ears on Iran's nuclear programme" for both the Council and the broader membership. To abolish its mandate is "nothing short of reckless, nor consistent with earlier Council decisions that recognized the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon", stressed the representative of the Netherlands, also speaking for Belgium and Luxembourg.
"No UN Member State should prevent the [Council] from functioning properly," urged the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, while the representative of the Republic of Korea observed that the Panel has contributed to international efforts to uphold the global non-proliferation regime. Further, "independent expert monitoring is an important tool for the [Council] to ensure the effective implementation of its decisions", he emphasized.
Failing to renew the Panel's mandate, said the representative of Bahrain, "deprives the Council of an important tool that enhances transparency, verification and the implementation of relevant [Council] resolutions". Spotlighting the impact on her country and the wider region, she said that "these developments have confirmed that the risks associated with proliferation, missile technologies and the transfer of military capabilities do not remain confined within the borders of a single State".
Building on that, Ukraine's representative recalled that the Russian Federation vetoed a mandate extension for the Panel of Experts serving the 1718 Committee in 2024, "bringing to an end 14 years of independent UN monitoring of sanctions implementation" concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Now, another independent monitoring mechanism has been prevented from functioning effectively, and he stressed that "Russia itself has directly benefited from prohibited military cooperation with States subject to UN sanctions".
He said that this "demonstrates why the question of the veto - and particularly its abuse - must remain central to meaningful [Council] reform". As for the stakes, the representative of South Africa observed that the Assembly's veto initiative "remains a testament to the notion contained in Article 24 of the Charter that, in carrying out its duties under this responsibility, the [Council] acts on behalf of all UN Member States - and is thus accountable to them".
