Overview

• The bid to keep sanctions relief won just four votes at the Security Council, with nine against and two abstentions, clearing the way for UN measures to be restored around September 28 under resolution 2231.
• France, the UK and Germany triggered the snapback in late August, citing curtailed IAEA access and concerns over Iran’s enriched‑uranium stocks.
• The decision includes a reversibility clause that allows sanctions to be lifted if an acceptable agreement is reached before the deadline.
• Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warned it will suspend cooperation with the IAEA if UN sanctions are effectively reimposed, following a limited September 9 Iran‑IAEA understanding that did not restart full inspections.
• European diplomats say they need direct talks, unrestricted inspector access to key sites struck in June, and clear accounting of nuclear material, while Russia and China denounce the snapback as unlawful and have floated a six‑month alternative path.