Iran slams UN Security Council meeting on nuclear program as illegitimate

A United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation targeting Iran devolved into a heated diplomatic clash on Tuesday, with Tehran's envoy vehemently rejecting the session's legitimacy. Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani condemned the gathering as a politicized violation of the council's own rules, firmly aligning Iran with Russia and China in opposing what he described as a calculated Western effort to distort facts and exert pressure.

A Legal and Procedural Rejection

Ambassador Iravani's core argument was procedural. He stated that the Security Council no longer possesses any legal mandate to discuss Iran's nuclear program following the definitive expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 on October 18, 2025. That resolution had enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "Any attempt to convene such a meeting constitutes a clear violation and abuse of the council's procedure," Iravani declared. He dismissed recent "snapback" sanctions re-imposed by the US, UK, France, and Germany as "null and void."

A Scathing Accusation of Western "Law of the Jungle"

Iravani placed the blame for the current diplomatic deadlock squarely on Western powers. He cited the US unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 under President Donald Trump and the subsequent failure of European parties to uphold their commitments as the root cause of tensions. He further referenced US and Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The Iranian ambassador accused the West of "selective invocation of the UN Charter," warning that such actions "undermine the rule of law, replacing it with the law of the jungle." He asserted Iran would never submit to such coercion.

A Heated Diplomatic Exchange and Unbridgeable Gap

The session featured a direct exchange between Iravani and US envoy Morgan Ortagus. Ortagus, the Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East, stated that the US remains "available for formal talks with Iran," but only if Tehran is prepared for "direct and meaningful dialogue." She reiterated Washington's foundational demand that "there can be no enrichment inside of Iran." Iravani dismissed this as an unacceptable precondition, stating that a "zero-enrichment policy" violates Iran's inherent rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and demonstrates a lack of intent for fair negotiation. The clash underscores a fundamental, unresolved conflict between Iran's claimed rights to peaceful nuclear technology and the West's non-proliferation demands, with the UN Security Council itself now a battleground for this dispute.