France says that the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote this month on extending the mandate of a panel of experts overseeing sanctions on Iran.
The panel’s mandate is due to expire on September 26, during the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. The ongoing U.S-Israeli war with Iran is also expected to feature prominently in discussions.
France is holding the presidency of the 15-member Security Council for September. French U.N. Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said the Iranian nuclear program and Tehran’s compliance with its U.N. obligations would be central to the Council’s discussions this month.
“The Council will finally have to vote on renewing the mandate of the … panel of experts on Iran,” he said. “That was a matter reintroduced in September 2025, when we restored sanctions on the country following Iran’s non-compliance with its obligation under its nuclear program.”
U.N. diplomats said the vote is expected to take place on September 17.
The vote could lead to vetoes from Russia and China, which have argued that the Security Council no longer has the authority to address the Iranian nuclear issue.
In a joint statement in March, Russia and China said the Security Council “cannot proceed to re-establish the 1737 Committee or its Panel of Experts.”
The sanctions committee itself does not have a fixed mandate, unlike the panel of experts. Established in 2006, the committee oversees U.N. sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear activities and is commonly known as the 1737 Committee, after the resolution that created it.
Russia and China’s U.N. missions did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the planned vote.
The dispute follows a decision by Britain, France and Germany last year to trigger a U.N. “snapback” mechanism, restoring sanctions that had been lifted under the U.N-endorsed 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The European powers said the move followed Iran’s failure to comply with commitments under the agreement, which was designed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons. However, its uranium-enrichment activities have raised concerns in the United States and among its allies that Tehran could retain the capability to develop such weapons in the future, given that highly enriched uranium can be used both for civilian nuclear purposes and as the core material of a nuclear weapon.
The latest dispute comes amid broader tensions over the future of international oversight of Iran’s nuclear program, with Russia and China challenging continued Security Council involvement while Western powers push for the sanctions-monitoring mechanism to remain in place.
Reuters
