Restrictions on Iran’s Nuclear Program End Today

According to Rokna’s report from the Government Information Base, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a statement regarding the expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The text of the statement is as follows:

As previously asserted in official positions and statements concerning the JCPOA and Security Council Resolution 2231, dated July 20, 2015, regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, the ten-year period defined under that resolution concludes on Saturday, 26 Mehr 1404 (October 18, 2025), and all of its provisions — including the restrictions envisaged for Iran’s nuclear program and their associated mechanisms — are to be considered terminated from that date onward.

Accordingly, the nuclear issue of Iran, which was placed on the Security Council agenda under the label of “non-proliferation,” should now be removed from the list of issues under consideration by the UN Security Council.

Upon the termination of Resolution 2231, Iran’s nuclear program should be treated as that of any non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The ostensible purpose of placing Iran’s nuclear issue on the Security Council agenda has always been to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme and prevent its diversion toward weaponization. That purpose has been fully achieved, as no report contrary to this has ever been published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Despite pressure from three European countries and the United States, demanding that the IAEA declare Iran non-compliant with its safeguards obligations, such a determination has never been made.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite having accepted its additional safeguards obligations under the JCPOA, remained subject to unjust sanctions. It was those same three European countries, the European Union, and the United States that violated their obligations to remove sanctions.

Resolution 2231 and its annex, the JCPOA, constituted a significant achievement in multilateral diplomacy whose credibility and effectiveness were evident in the early years following its adoption. Unfortunately, the United States, by its irresponsible unilateral withdrawal in 2018, and the three European states, by failing to fulfill their commitments, failed to uphold that important diplomatic achievement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that the move by the three European members of the JCPOA (United Kingdom, France, Germany) to abuse the JCPOA dispute resolution mechanism — without legal basis or logical justification, and merely to conform to the demands of the United States (which had unilaterally and unjustifiably withdrawn from the JCPOA in 2018) — is illicit, and stresses that this move does not undermine the legal arrangements set forth in Resolution 2231, including its expiration date. Accordingly, that resolution should be regarded as having terminated on schedule (26 Mehr 1404).

It is further emphasized that, despite the unlawful action of the three European parties — who since at least May 2018, following the U.S. withdrawal, have continuously committed “significant non-performance” of their obligations and thus forfeited their legal right to invoke the JCPOA dispute mechanism — the UN Security Council, due to the explicit objections of two permanent members, China and Russia, has not adopted any decision to restore resolutions that had been terminated.

On this basis, the confrontational actions of Germany, the United Kingdom, and France — as persistent violators of the JCPOA, acting with ill intent and without adherence to the relevant legal procedures in an attempt to reinstate rescinded Security Council resolutions — should in no way be considered to have any legal or executive force. The Secretariat of the Security Council is not permitted to validate or legitimize such unlawful actions by the three states.

Recalling once more that six members of the Security Council, including two permanent ones, did not agree to the illegal measures taken by the three European countries and the United States, and noting the joint communications by Iran, China, and Russia to the UN Secretary-General on this matter, the Ministry stresses that the Security Council has adopted no decision allowing the UN Secretariat to independently conclude that rescinded resolutions should be reinstated — a matter that falls exclusively within the competence of the Security Council.

In light of the foregoing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges the UN Secretary-General, pursuant to Article 100 of the UN Charter, to immediately correct any erroneous information posted on the UN’s website regarding the alleged restoration of formerly terminated resolutions against Iran, and to prevent further disruption to the legal and procedural pathways associated with the Security Council’s actions.

Furthermore, the Islamic Republic deems the reactivation of the Security Council’s sanction mechanisms — including the reinstatement of its sanctions committee and expert group — to be illegal, and instructs the Secretariat to promptly amend the Security Council’s website, removing references to the alleged reactivation of those arrangements.

This is especially necessary in light of the absolute ambiguity surrounding the rationale and objectives of the now-abolished resolutions, their validity, and their termination mechanisms. All member states of the United Nations are expected, recognizing the illicit nature of the three European states’ actions, the manifest procedural flaws in their approach, the lack of any decision by the Security Council to extend Resolution 2231 or reinstate rescinded resolutions, to reject any efficacy of the European and U.S. claims regarding reinstatement of ceased resolutions (including Resolutions 1696, 1737, 1747, 1803, 1835, 1929), and to regard Resolution 2231 as terminated.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasizing the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, strongly condemns the Security Council’s failure to condemn the military aggression by the Israeli regime and by the United States against Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereign national rights, and their attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities protected under safeguards.

The brutal, aggressive assaults on Iran’s nuclear facilities, carried out amid diplomatic negotiations with the United States, amount to a severe betrayal of diplomacy and a major blow to the norms of international law, including the protective mechanisms of the non-proliferation regime for its member states.

These attacks, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of thousands of Iranian citizens, the destruction of thousands of residential units, and damage to nuclear infrastructure, also disrupted Iran’s normal cooperation with the IAEA. Iran’s efforts to revive engagement within the framework of the Cairo Understanding were obstructed, due to the irresponsible and biased use of the JCPOA dispute mechanism by the three European countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic expresses appreciation for the responsible positions of China and Russia, as permanent members of the Security Council, who have consistently opposed the abuse of the JCPOA dispute mechanism by the three European states, and also thanks Algeria and Pakistan, as two non-permanent members of the Council, which opposed the European states’ illegal actions within the Council.

The Ministry also respects the decisions of the two other non-permanent members, South Korea and Guyana, which did not endorse the measures of the three European countries.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms its diplomatic commitment while insisting on the legitimate rights and lawful interests of the Iranian nation in all arenas, including the peaceful use of nuclear energy.