China says UN Security Council's Iran nuclear review has concluded

Sun Lei, China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, stated on June 9 that the Security Council's review of the Iran nuclear issue has already concluded. He made the remarks during a UNSC open meeting where Russia had called for a procedural vote. Sun pointed out that the Security Council never reached an agreement on whether the E3 (UK, France, and Germany) were qualified to trigger the "snapback" mechanism for automatically restoring sanctions. He emphasized that with the expiration of UNSC Resolution 2231 on Oct. 18, 2025, the council's deliberations on the matter have ended. He criticized certain countries for pushing to restore sanctions against Iran while intentionally ignoring the disagreements and concerns of other council members, stating they bear full responsibility for the resulting deadlock. Sun added that the Security Council should play a constructive role rather than focusing solely on sanctions pressure and must not become a tool for the political agenda of any specific country. China urges all council members to faithfully implement the "termination day" provisions of Resolution 2231 to uphold the authority of the Security Council and create favorable conditions for a political solution to the Iran nuclear issue.