Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on Thursday that would have extended for another year the mandate of a panel of experts monitoring sanctions imposed on Iran.The US-drafted text received 11 votes in favour, two abstentions, including Pakistan, and two against.Vasily Nebenzya, Moscow's UN envoy, argued that the draft resolution “was deeply flawed and did not have any legal basis".“We strongly urged the authors to refrain from promoting such a draft; it was clear that the only thing that such a stubborn imposition of such products could lead to would be an increased growth in tensions within the Security Council, both on political and procedural grounds,” he said.“Nonetheless, Washington decided to opt for confrontation and put the draft to a vote.”The vote exposed deep divisions on the 15-member council over whether sanctions imposed by the UN on Iran remain in force following a dispute over the use of the “snapback” mechanism contained in the 2015 nuclear deal.Britain, France and Germany triggered the mechanism in August last year, arguing that Iran had failed to meet its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The move was intended to restore UN sanctions that had been suspended under the agreement and Security Council Resolution 2231.Russia and China have rejected the legal and procedural validity of the move. They argue...
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