UNITED NATIONS -- China and Russia on Tuesday challenged the legality and substance of a UN Security Council meeting on Iran’s nuclear program, with Beijing blaming U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities for halting IAEA inspections and Moscow rejecting claims that earlier sanctions resolutions had been reinstated.
The Security Council met after the IAEA Board of Governors voted on Sept. 9 to refer Iran’s nuclear dossier to the council, the first such referral in 20 years. 
The resolution, proposed by the United States, France, Britain and Germany, passed with 23 votes in favor, eight abstentions and three against. 
The meeting itself was requested by Western countries and Bahrain; Russia and China objected, prompting a procedural vote that passed 11-2 with two abstentions and was not subject to a veto.
China’s ambassador, Fu Cong, said the U.S. and Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards were “the direct reason the agency has been unable to conduct inspections,” and blamed Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA and its “maximum-pressure” campaign as “the root causes of the current crisis.” 
He also criticized Britain, France and Germany for failing to meet their commitments, and said the snapback mechanism for reimposing UN sanctions had “fundamental legal and procedural flaws.”
Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, raised a point of order, saying the meeting was convened under a “non-existent agenda item” and that under Resolution 2231 the council had concluded consideration of Iran’s nuclear program on Oct. 18, 2025, removing the non-proliferation item from its agenda. 
He said claims that earlier sanctions resolutions had been reinstated “have no legal basis whatsoever,” and noted that Russia and China have proposed holding the briefing under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security,” citing strikes on safeguarded nuclear infrastructure.