Merve Aydogan
12 March 2026•Update: 12 March 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz accused Russia and China on Thursday of blocking the UN body tasked with overseeing Iran sanctions to shield Tehran from international oversight.
Demanding an end to "the performative handwringing supposedly over process," Waltz told the Security Council during a mandated meeting of the 1737 Sanctions Committee that "the reality is Russia and China do not want this committee because it will continue to protect their partner Iran."
Established in December 2006, the committee is required to report to the Council every 90 days on its activities.
The session opened with Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia urging a procedural vote against the meeting, as he argued that the E3, or the UK, France and Germany, had no right to activate the "snapback" mechanism and criticized the US for withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.
China's envoy Fu Cong voiced support for the procedural motion, calling the E3's activation of the snapback mechanism procedurally and legally flawed.
On Aug. 28, 2025, the E3 announced the activation of the "snapback" mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, accusing Tehran of non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, after the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018.
Israel, the US and several European countries accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists that its nuclear program is purely peaceful, aimed at power generation and civilian use.
Waltz pushed back, saying the "obstructionism" was "predicated on a bad faith and baseless reinterpretation of events," and Russia and China had sustained military trade ties with Iran in violation of UN resolutions.
"In light of that, the United States will continue to work to ensure Iran can no longer hold the world hostage with its missile, drone and certainly not a nuclear program," Waltz told the Council.
Nebenzia accused the US, which is the current president of the Council, of "lawlessness. "The Russian Federation sees no rationale for getting the Security Council committee 1737 back up and running," he said.
"We deeply regret that Western delegations are insisting on trying to legalize their claims," he said, adding that Russia and China "has done everything" to avoid a complex legal and procedural situation during a time of intense disagreement about the "snapback" mechanism.
Nebenzia also argued that the US "had no legal grounds for raising the issue of resuming the anti-Iranian resolutions of the Security Council and the restoration of the 1737 committee."
The Chinese envoy said he would not comment on the 1737 committee. "The United States and Israel must immediately stop their military operations, refrain from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards, avoid further escalation of the tension and prevent the conflict from spreading across the entire Middle East region."
Calling on the Council to "help the parties build trust, bridge differences," Fu urged "a certain country" to "stop manipulating the Council for political purposes."
