Mr. President,

We are once again compelled to express our profound disappointment that the majority of Security Council members have failed to muster the resolve and courage to stand up for the decisions they had previously adopted. We are grateful to those colleagues who did not endorse yet another attempt by a small group of countries to undermine the authority of the Council in pursuit of their parochial political interests.

Mr. President,

Today, the Security Council has once again convened for a ritualistic briefing under a non-existent agenda item. The very fact that this briefing is being held constitutes not only a flagrant procedural violation, but also an irrational waste of the Council’s valuable time and resources. Today’s meeting simply has no subject matter. The Council has taken no decisions to reinstate the Security Council resolutions concerning Iran, nor to re-establish the 1737 Committee, while the notorious “snapback” mechanism provided for under resolution 2231, when it was in force, was never triggered. We will not dwell on the reasons why the United Kingdom, France and Germany had no right to invoke it – we have already explained them on various occasions. Those willing to refresh their memories may refer to our numerous statements on the matter, as well as to the detailed legal analysis that was jointly prepared by Russia, China and Iran and circulated in the Security Council and the General Assembly in 2025.

We will merely point out that Security Council resolution 2231 expired, as stipulated therein, on 18 October 2025. On that same day, the “Non-proliferation” agenda item was removed from the list of matters to be addressed by the Security Council – in other words, the Council formally concluded its consideration of the Iranian nuclear program. No unlawful steps by the UN Secretariat in violation of Article 100 of the Charter of the United Nations, including the restoration of the website of the 1737 Committee and its sanctions list, can change this.

In this context, we wish to reiterate that our country will not allow the Council to adopt any decisions that would legitimize claims that the “snapback” has allegedly been triggered. Likewise, we will continue to thwart attempts to resuscitate the 1737 Committee. Russia will continue to defend the integrity of the decisions previously adopted by the Security Council concerning the termination of the resolutions concerning the Iranian nuclear issue, and we will insist on strict compliance therewith. We call on our Western colleagues to abandon their unlawful claims to reinstate those resolutions and to cease obstructing the normal functioning of the Council, first and foremost within its legitimate subsidiary bodies.

Mr. President,

It is worth noting that briefings such as today’s one have neither procedural nor political “added value.” Convening them has nothing to do with the task of maintaining international peace and security. The initiators of such meetings prefer living in an alternative reality of their own making, while merely reproducing their familiar set of fabrications regarding Iran’s nuclear program. This involves both the manipulation of facts, including the deliberate distortion of the reports by the IAEA Director General – including reports for which he no longer has a mandate – and the simple disregard of the situation on the ground.

If our Western colleagues were genuinely concerned about upholding the global non-proliferation regime, they would explicitly identify the true source of direct threats thereto. The United States not only provoked the crisis surrounding the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action by unilaterally withdrawing from it in 2018, but ultimately resorted to the use of force: together with Israel, the US carried out a series of strikes against Iran’s peaceful nuclear infrastructure under IAEA safeguards. These unlawful and reckless actions by Washington and West Jerusalem, which could trigger a large-scale catastrophe with unpredictable consequences for the entire Middle East, constituted an attempt to undermine the authority of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the safeguards system underpinning it. It was precisely these actions that prevented IAEA inspectors from performing their verification activities on Iranian territory without any interruptions. But even despite this, Tehran has expressed its readiness to continue its engagement with the IAEA Secretariat on this matter.

Nevertheless, the European delegations not only refuse to call a spade a spade – they either pretend that nothing has happened and nothing is happening or, worse still, support aggressive actions against Iran and its nuclear facilities, while pinning all the blame for the current situation on Tehran. At the same time, Western countries continue to artificially stir up tensions both in New York and in Vienna. Yet another example was yesterday’s adoption of a politicized resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors, which, incidentally, does not entail any procedural consequences for the work of the UN Security Council. But does it bother those who proposed this resolution and pushed it through? Moreover, the United Kingdom and France have the cynicism to speak of their commitment to seeking a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. Over the past year and a half, however, the futility of these countries’ efforts has become evident to any outside observer.

Mr. President,

The Russian Federation categorically rejects attempts to manipulate the authority of the Security Council for political score-settling with Tehran. Such reckless actions only push us further away from the prospect of reaching negotiated solutions that would pave the way to a sustainable resolution of the conflict in the Persian Gulf and dispel any prejudices and suspicions regarding Iran’s nuclear program. We stand convinced that agreements on this matter can only be reached on the basis of a carefully calibrated balance of interests and with due regard for Iran’s legitimate rights.

We strongly urge Western countries to stop adding fuel to the fire of escalation. We trust that all constructively minded States will continue their efforts to create conducive conditions for bringing the situation back onto the path of a political and diplomatic settlement as soon as possible. Russia remains invariably ready to contribute to such efforts.

Thank you.