Iran sanctions look set to return after last-ditch UN vote

Sweeping UN sanctions look likely to return on Iran despite a last-ditch effort on Friday by China and Russia to secure a delay to allow further talks, diplomats say.

European powers were urging Iran to reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.

Complaining that Iran has not complied with a landmark but moribund deal, the Europeans have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions — notably on its banking and oil sectors -- that are set to take effect at the end of Saturday.

China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another half year for talks, or until April 18, 2026.

But diplomats said they did not expect it to receive the nine votes on the 15-member Security Council for passage.

French President Emmanuel Macron met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday and said a deal was possible to avoid the sanctions, but that Iran had only hours left.

One diplomat, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said late Thursday that the Europeans believed they had "done everything to try to move things," but that Iran did not offer the desired flexibility.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the Security Council vote was "a fleeting opportunity for the Council to say 'No' to confrontation and 'Yes' to cooperation."

"Iran has put forward multiple proposals to keep the window for diplomacy open," he wrote on X.

France — speaking for itself, Germany and Britain — has told Iran it must allow full access to UN nuclear inspectors, immediately resume nuclear negotiations and offer transparency on highly enriched uranium, the whereabouts of which has been the subject of speculation.

The 2015 deal, negotiated during Barack Obama's presidency, lifted sanctions in return for Iran drastically scaling back its controversial nuclear work.