WANA (Oct 19) – In a new diplomatic move against unilateral sanctions, Iran’s Foreign Minister announced growing coordination between Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow aimed at invalidating the so-called “snapback” mechanism.

 

During Sunday’s (October 19) cabinet meeting, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi presented a report on the latest diplomatic actions, stating: “We are witnessing the formation of a new global polarization. On one side stand the European countries and a few of their allies, and on the other, a majority of nations — particularly Iran, Russia, and China — that emphasize independence, multilateralism, and international justice.”

 

Araghchi also referred to the recent Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kampala, where 121 member states expressed support for Iran’s stance, calling it evidence of the declining legitimacy of the European initiative to trigger the snapback mechanism.

Iran.Russia.China

A day earlier, on October 18, UN Security Council Resolution 2231 officially expired. Following this, the ambassadors of Iran, Russia, and China sent a joint letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, describing the European attempt to revive sanctions as “legally flawed and devoid of legitimacy.” They emphasized that the expiration of Resolution 2231 “marks the end of the Security Council’s consideration of Iran’s nuclear issue.”

 

Separately, Araghchi also sent a letter to the UN leadership stating: “Resolution 2231 has now definitively expired. Any claim to ‘revive’ or ‘reinstate’ terminated resolutions is fundamentally void, lacks legal basis, and cannot produce any binding effect.”

 

Earlier in September, the three European signatories to the JCPOA had initiated the snapback process. Despite opposition from Iran and efforts by Russia and China to extend Resolution 2231, the Security Council rejected the European move, and in early October, the Europeans declared the return of six previous sanctions resolutions — an action Iran called “unlawful and baseless.”

 

The recent diplomatic efforts by Iran, China, and Russia — especially within the UN — signal a coordinated attempt to build a global consensus against unilateral sanction mechanisms. Analysts say this could pose one of the most significant challenges to the credibility of the Western sanctions system in recent years.