The UN Security Council (hereinafter referred to as the Security Council) is the only global governance body with authority and a legitimate mechanism for coercive force. If a state is a small and local Leviathan, then the Security Council is a planetary Leviathan.
The Security Council’s primary instrument is its resolutions, which essentially constitute global laws binding on all countries. If anyone violates these guidelines, according to the UN Charter, the Security Council has the authority to impose sanctions, initiate tribunals, and wage war.
Yes, we have serial “killers” and “rapists” who regularly violate these resolutions, primarily Israel and the United States. But since these are two superpowers and hegemonies, no one dares to force them to peace or destroy them. Even the great USSR—the pinnacle of human civilization, humanity, and the greatness of the Russian people—endured this state of affairs. Until now, Russia (the USSR) and China have scrupulously observed all Security Council resolutions.
Last Friday, the Security Council rejected a resolution proposed by Russia and China that would have delayed the restoration of sanctions against Iran, marking another victory for Israel, which has been waging war against the Iranian people since 1979, when the pro-Western and pro-Zionist dictator Pahlavi was overthrown. The resolution was supported by Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia, while Britain, Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, and the United States voted against.
For the past week, experts have been speculating about how Russia and China will now act. Will they comply with previously imposed sanctions or “violate” binding resolutions? For example, international journalist Ekaterina Postnikova from RBC noted that “if Moscow and Beijing refuse to comply with the restored sanctions against Iran, it will be unprecedented.” She is gravely mistaken; she should also have taken into account the aforementioned caveat about serial “rapists” and “murderers.” They are the ones who violate sanctions all the time; they are hardened recidivists, deserving of the harshest punishment and subsequent isolation from normal states and peoples.
The fact is that China and Russia view the process of reinstating sanctions against Iran as illegal, legally null and void, and unenforceable. Therefore, refusing to join the sanctions would not constitute an ” unprecedented case” of Russia and China violating Security Council resolutions. Russia’s position has been outlined by its Foreign Ministry and its representative to the UN.
“I apologize, but this [launching the sanctions mechanism] is truly a public assault on international law, common sense, and any understanding of jurisprudence on the table of the UN Security Council. It’s probably crude. But forgive me, there’s no other way to describe it, because this is a mockery of everything,” said Maria Zakharova, September 28 .
“We will be living in two parallel realities, because for some, the snapback [imposition of sanctions] happened, but for us, it didn’t. This creates a problem… Frankly, we are not thrilled that the Secretary-General rushed to implement a resolution that has obvious legal flaws,” Vasily Nebenzya, October 1 .
“The Europeans’ legally and procedurally unsound action under the so-called snapback is a problem that hinders the search for negotiated solutions that would allow, based on a carefully calibrated balance of interests, to eliminate any suspicions and prejudices regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy, with due reliance on international law and taking into account Tehran’s interests,” Zakharova, October 2 .
Long before the anti-sanctions resolution failed, the foreign ministers of the People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Russian Federation stated the following in a joint letter:
“We recall the joint statement of the Beijing summit between China, Iran and Russia (March 14, 2025), which emphasized the need to end all unilateral illegal sanctions… the relevant parties should be committed to addressing the root causes of the current situation and refrain from resorting to sanctions, pressure or threats of force…
The actions of the [France, Germany and England] foreign ministers of the European three [to restore sanctions] clearly contradict the resolution and, therefore, are, in essence, legally and procedurally invalid…
It is deeply regrettable that Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union, have not only joined the discriminatory and illegal US sanctions against Iran, but have also adopted their own restrictive measures in violation of their obligations under Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, including on the eve of October 18, 2023… Re-imposing sanctions against Iran lifted by the UN Security Council resolution would be irrational and absurd…
In view of the above, the UN Security Council cannot take any action based on the letter sent by the EU3 and must declare it null and void. Any steps or measures taken in disregard of or in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 cannot create any legal international obligations for UN Member States.”
So, Russia, China, Pakistan, and other countries will not reimpose sanctions against Iran, including on arms, and this will not violate mandatory Security Council resolutions.
