The Security Council on Friday failed to adopt a resolution that would continue to provide sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, News.az reports citing Xinhua.
The draft resolution, put forward by the Republic of Korea in its capacity as Security Council president for the month of September, won four votes in favor, nine votes against, and two abstentions, failing to get the nine positive votes required for adoption.
If adopted, the draft resolution would have prevented a "snapback" of UN sanctions against Iran, a mechanism contained in the Iran nuclear deal and Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Britain, France and Germany -- the three European countries of the JCPOA, known as the E3 -- claimed they triggered the snapback mechanism on Aug. 28 by notifying the Security Council of Tehran's "non-performance."
Under Resolution 2231, the UN sanctions in place before the adoption of Resolution 2231 would resume 30 days after the notification, unless the Security Council adopts a resolution to decide otherwise.
However, the legality of the E3 move has been questioned as it has skipped the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) provided for in the JCPOA and Resolution 2231.
Under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, the DRM has 35 days to resolve the disagreement. A snapback can be triggered only after the DRM fails to resolve the issue.
China and Russia have tabled a draft resolution that would extend the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 for six months to allow time for diplomacy.
Resolution 2231 expires on Oct. 18, 2025, after which time the Security Council would stop considering the Iran nuclear deal.
Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia voted in favor of Friday's draft resolution. Guyana and the Republic of Korea abstained. The remaining nine Security Council members voted against it.
