UN Security Council to Vote on Iran Sanctions Panel Amid Russia-China Opposition

France, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for September, has announced that the body will vote this month on renewing the mandate of the panel of experts that monitors sanctions on Iran. The vote is expected on September 17, ahead of the annual UN General Assembly meeting.

The panel's mandate is set to expire on September 26. Its renewal is expected to face strong opposition from Russia and China, both of which have argued that the Security Council no longer has the authority to consider the Iranian nuclear issue. In a joint statement in March, the two countries said the Council cannot re-establish the sanctions committee or its panel of experts.

The sanctions committee, established in 2006 under Resolution 1737, oversees sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Unlike the panel of experts, the committee does not have a fixed term.

The dispute traces back to a decision by Britain, France, and Germany to trigger a UN 'snapback' mechanism last year, which restored sanctions lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The European nations took this step after concluding that Tehran was not complying with the agreement.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but its uranium-enrichment program has long raised concerns among the US and its allies that Tehran could be keeping the option open of producing nuclear weapons. The US-Israeli war with Iran is expected to top the agenda at the General Assembly.