Russia, China end mandate for independent monitoring of UN sanctions on Iran

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Russia and China ended on Thursday a United Nations Security Council mandate for the independent monitoring of international sanctions on Iran, reviving their argument that allUNmeasures on Tehran had been removed under a nuclear deal with world powers.

All UN sanctions on Iran were reimposed a year ago after France, Britain and Germany accused Tehran of violating the 2015 nuclear pact meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

This included the return of an independent panel of experts to monitor and report to the 15-member Security Council on violations and recommend further action. However, the council has been operating without a panel of experts on Iran for the past year because it has been unable to agree on their appointment, a move that must be done by consensus.

Russia and China then vetoed on Thursday a resolution that would have extended the mandate for the independent monitoring of sanctions. Elevencouncil members voted in favor, while Pakistan and Somalia abstained.

"Without an independent panel of experts, this council loses its principal source of impartial, evidence-based reporting on sanctions violations, creating a monitoring gap that only benefits the Iranian regime and those who profit from evading those measures," DeputyUS Ambassador Jennifer Locetta told the council after the vote.

The United States and Israel went to war with Iran seven months ago, arguing that their aim was to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018 during his first term in office, describing the pact as "the worst deal ever."

Russia and China accused their Western counterparts of politicizing the Security Council on Thursday.

"We strongly urge Western colleagues to stop their very dangerous actions on the Iran front, which threaten further complication of settling of the crisis in the Persian Gulf," Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council. "The only way to resolve disagreements and to alleviate concerns ... pertaining to the Iranian nuclear program is through political and diplomatic efforts."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Chizu Nomiyama )