The United Nations on Friday failed to pass a resolution, proposed by China and Russia, that aimed to prolong sanctions exemptions for another six months as part of the nuclear agreement.
The ballot resulted in 4 votes in favor and 9 against. Those supporting the resolution were Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia, while Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, the United Kingdom, and the United States opposed it.
Guyana and South Korea chose to abstain.
This vote occurred after the activation of the deal’s “snapback” provision, which reimposes sanctions on Iran following stalled negotiations concerning its nuclear program.
These sanctions, slated to take effect unless a last-minute agreement is reached on Friday, will include the freezing of Iranian assets held internationally, the cessation of arms deals with Tehran, and penalties for any progression of Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“We had hoped that European colleagues and the U.S. would reconsider and opt for diplomacy and dialogue instead of their clumsy attempts at coercion, which only lead to an escalation of the regional situation,” stated Dmitry Polyanskiy, the deputy ambassador to the U.N., during the session.
Prior to the U.N. vote, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, had also been engaged in meetings with his French, German, and British counterparts.
A European diplomat informed The Associated Press that the meeting “did not yield any new developments or results.”
On Tuesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, also affirmed that Iran would not “submit to pressure” and that discussions with the U.S. would prove to be a “dead end.”
In an interview conducted on Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian characterized the decision as “unfair, unjust, and illegal.”