Foreign Ministry statement on expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231
17 October 2025 12:30
1717-17-10-2025
The ten-year period established by Resolution 2231 following the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) expires on October 18.
At this point, all the provisions of Resolution 2231, including the restrictions and procedures it contains, are to be terminated. The UN Security Council is due to have concluded its consideration of the Iranian nuclear programme-related issues. The item "Non-Proliferation" must be removed from the list of issues under consideration by the UN Security Council.
Considering that these changes have been agreed upon in advance at the time the JCPOA was concluded and enshrined in the UN Security Council resolution that approved it, they are also provided for in the Executive Order of the President of the Russian Federation of March 11, 2016, "On Measures to Implement UN Security Council Resolution No. 2231 of July 20, 2015", all provisions of which shall remain in effect until expiration of the established deadline. The further development of Russian-Iranian cooperation in various areas will be carried out in strict compliance with our national legislation and international commitments. The Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was signed at the top level in Moscow in January 2025 and entered into force on October 2, 2025, serves as a solid foundation in this regard.
Notably, the aggressive attempts by the European JCPOA Participating States to invoke the re-imposition of the UN Security Council sanctions resolutions on Iran, which were lifted as part of the implementation of Resolution 2231, have failed. Despite their persistent, but unfounded claims to the contrary, the process of snapback of the previous sanctions on Iran cannot be considered accomplished due to the gravity of the material breaches of Resolution 2231 committed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, as well as their total failure to comply with the established procedures, which were specifically designed to prevent manipulations.
The Europeans opted to recklessly overriding everything that stood in the way of their attempts to advance their confrontational course. However, under international law, a party that systematically violates an agreement cannot take advantage of the mechanisms and benefits it provides.
The legally and procedurally void steps taken by the Europeans, opportunistically supported by the United States, which long ago announced its withdrawal from the JCPOA, as well as, unfortunately, by the UN Secretariat, by definition cannot impose any legal obligations on bona fide members of the international community. We also recognise that all the objectives for which the UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iran were initially adopted have long been achieved, as recorded by the IAEA in December 2015. Without this, full implementation of the JCPOA could not be started.
Our position on this matter, as detailed in the Foreign Ministry statements of September 20 and 27, 2025, as well as during the briefing of the Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman on October 2, 2025, has remained unchanged. We emphasise that the UN Security Council has not adopted any resolutions authorising the UN Secretariat to make independent conclusions regarding re-imposing sanctions on Iran. This matter falls within the exclusive purview of the UN Security Council.
We have approached the UN Secretary-General with a demand to immediately remove the false information arbitrarily posted on the UN website about the alleged reinstatement of the long-obsolete resolutions on Iran, especially since, under the current circumstances, these resolutions have neither agreed objectives, nor a validity period, nor a lifting mechanism. Failure by UN senior officials to correct the Secretariat's blunder would mean that the Secretary-General and the Secretariat staff are deliberately acting in violation of Article 100 of the UN Charter.
With the expiration of Resolution 2231, the JCPOA, rightfully considered as a major achievement of international diplomacy, is about to become a thing of the past as well. In the first years after adoption, it quickly proved its validity and effectiveness allowing the IAEA to fully remove all questions it had towards Iran.
The successful implementation of the JCPOA was intended to allow Tehran to fully exercise its right to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in accordance with the NPT and its obligations under that Treaty. After the JCPOA expires, the Iranian nuclear programme should be treated the same as the nuclear programme of any other non-nuclear-weapon state party to the NPT.
The nuclear deal was never designed to deal with the violations by the United States and European signatory countries that are now scrambling to defend themselves and legitimise their arbitrary actions by brazenly manipulating the authority and powers of the UN Security Council. The goal of the JCPOA was to lead to the comprehensive lifting of all UN Security Council sanctions, as well as multilateral and national sanctions, related to the Iranian nuclear programme. Well, as far as the UN is concerned this path has been gone through. Restrictions imposed in circumvention of the UN Security Council are illegal.
October 18, 2025, is considered the Termination Day for Resolution 2231, and no decisions have been made to revoke it. The Russian-Chinese initiative to technically extend the JCPOA for six months was snubbed by the Western camp, which once again demonstrated its inability to an agreement, relying on illegal methods and brutal force. From now on the control over nuclear activities in Iran is based exclusively on the NPT and the Iran-IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.
The Russian side remains firmly committed to a political and diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear programme and calls on all parties involved to focus their efforts on finding the necessary solutions to avoid a new, uncontrolled escalation of tensions fraught with grave consequences for regional and international security. We are ready to facilitate this in every possible way.
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