Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made the remark in a post on his X account on Monday, a day after the UN Security Council re-imposes sanctions once lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — in a move triggered by the E3 group of Britain, France and Germany, unfoundedly maligning Iran’s nuclear program.
“The #UNSC’s failure to endorse the draft resolution on extending Resolution 2231 is a clear demonstration of a so-called ‘rules-based order’ where one ruler dictates (NSPM-2) and the E3 merely obey,” Baghaei said, referring to the National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 signed by US President Donald Trump in February to re-impose his so-called maximum pressure policy on Tehran.
He pointed to the refusal of 6 out of 15 members of the Security Council to support a “yes” vote on reinstating terminated resolutions despite all sorts of pressure from the E3 and the United States and added that the fact “underscores how divided the Council is.”
The Iranian spokesperson noted that nearly half of the Council’s members are unconvinced that the re-imposition of sanctions triggered by the European troika is justified, legitimate, or legal.
As explicitly provided in Resolution 2231, it will be deemed terminated on October 18, 2025 and the E3’s abuse of the dispute resolution process cannot portray their move as legal, he emphasized.
“Any attempt by the E3 or the United States to revive terminated sanctions is null and void,” Baghaei pointed out.
He noted that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has conveyed this message directly in letters to his counterparts worldwide.
In his letters to his counterparts around the world, Araghchi said recent assertions by the United States and the E3 that terminated Security Council resolutions had been “restored” were “entirely unfounded, unlawful, and invalid.”
Last month, the E3 invoked the so-called snapback mechanism, a 30-day process to restore all anti-Iran sanctions.
Iran rejected the move as illegitimate, citing the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and the European trio’s decision to align with unlawful sanctions rather than fulfilling their JCPOA obligations.
The UN Security Council restored the bans on Sunday at 0000 GMT. They will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with the Islamic Republic and target the country’s defensive missile program.
The move came nearly two days after the United States and its allies predictably vetoed a draft resolution submitted by China and Russia on delaying the so-called “snapback” mechanism inside the deal that would return the bans.
