After Russia demanded a procedural vote, the Security Council kept the briefing on its Iran sanctions committee on the agenda by 11 votes to 2, with 2 abstentions. The vote came one day after the IAEA referred Iran's file to the Council. Yet the 1737 committee still has no chair, and no panel of experts has been appointed to monitor implementation.
France, which holds the Council presidency in September, opened a briefing on the Iran sanctions committee created under Resolution 1737 of 2006. Russia demanded a procedural vote on whether the item should be placed on the agenda. Eleven members voted in favour, Russia and China voted against, and Somalia and Pakistan abstained. The meeting could therefore proceed, but the vote did not resolve the dispute over how the sanctions should be implemented.[1]
One day before the Council vote, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution citing missing information about Iran's nuclear material and inspectors' loss of access to Natanz and Fordo. The text, tabled by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, received 23 votes in favour; 8 countries abstained, while China, Russia and Niger opposed it. The resolution asked IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to take the file to the Security Council.[2], [3]
Adopting the agenda did not complete the committee's working machinery. The Council has yet to elect a chair for the 1737 committee and has been unable to appoint the panel of experts that would monitor implementation. Russia's representative said Moscow would not permit decisions legitimising claims that sanctions snapped back in 2025. The US representative argued that China and Russia sought to undermine Council resolutions. The briefing remains open, but the monitoring structure is still incomplete.[1]
