Russia rejects return of UN sanctions on Iran

US and allies have 'forfeited a diplomatic solution' by pursuing an 'illegal procedure', says Moscow's ambassador

Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya has said western powers have 'basically killed diplomacy'. EPA

Russia rejected on Wednesday the return of UN sanctions on Iran, saying it does not recognise the snapback mechanism activated by western powers at the weekend.

"We do not recognise the snapback as coming into force," Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said at a media conference marking the start of Moscow’s presidency of the UN Security Council for October. “We’ll be living in two parallel realities, because for some snapback happened, for us it didn’t."

Mr Nebenzya accused western states of breaching Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, by seeking to reapply measures that expired in 2023.

He said the US and its allies had “forfeited a diplomatic solution” by pursuing “an illegal procedure” while ignoring Russian and Chinese proposals to extend the resolution to allow further talks.

Last week, the UN Security Council rejected a last-minute effort backed by Russia and China to delay for six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran.

The vote on a draft resolution failed to secure the minimum nine votes needed in the 15-member Security Council.

Britain, France and Germany triggered the 30-day mechanism in August, accusing Tehran of breaching the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at curbing its atomic programme.

The European powers argue Iran has advanced uranium enrichment activities well beyond levels necessary for civilian use, eroding the milestone agreement.

Mr Nebenzya added that Russia and China, along with Iran, had sent letters to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urging him not to reinstate the sanctions committee or enforce measures that Moscow insists are no longer valid.

“Our western colleagues keep saying they are open for diplomatic solutions, although they basically killed diplomacy by triggering snapback,” Mr Nebenzya said.

The comments underline the deep split within the Security Council over Iran, with western nations pressing to restore international restrictions while Russia and China argue that no legal basis exists for their return.

As Mr Nebenzya was speaking to reporters in New York, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on social media that Washington had begun implementing snapback sanctions against Iran.

Mr Rubio said the measures include new sanctions and export controls targeting 44 individuals and entities linked to Tehran’s nuclear, missile and military programmes. “As [US President Donald Trump] has made clear, we will deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon,” Mr Rubio wrote.

With the return of UN sanctions, Iran faces once more an arms embargo, a prohibition on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, and restrictions on activities tied to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The measures also reinstate travel bans and asset freezes on dozens of Iranian individuals and entities, along with a ban on supplying materials that could support the country’s nuclear programme.