Voting in the Security Council on Support for the Nuclear Agreement with Iran

Six days after the Islamic Republic of Iran and the group of 1+5 countries reached a nuclear agreement, the United Nations Security Council will vote on its supportive resolution on Monday, July 29. According to the Associated Press, the Security Council is also set to approve a series of measures aimed at ending sanctions against Iran. However, these measures include a mechanism for the reinstatement of sanctions in case of violations by Iran. The agreement announced on July 23 in Vienna between Iran and global powers requested the adoption of a resolution in the Security Council that must lift punitive sanctions against Iran based on seven previous Security Council resolutions. The Security Council resolutions have been the basis for international sanctions imposed on Iran over the past ten years. If the Security Council resolution is adopted, sanctions will effectively be lifted only when the International Atomic Energy Agency verifies Iran's compliance with its nuclear commitments according to global demands and the agency's requirements. All provisions of the new resolution will be valid for ten years, which includes the issue of reinstating sanctions in case of violations of commitments. The draft of this resolution was presented to the Security Council by Samantha Power, the U.S. representative to the UN. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. assessment is that the resolution will receive unanimous support from the five permanent members and ten non-permanent members of the Security Council. The five permanent members of the Security Council had pursued long and difficult negotiations with Iran in recent years to reach the nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, the new Security Council resolution, if adopted, will not include the sanctions resolutions imposed by the U.S. government, the European Union, and some independent punitive measures by other countries against Iran. Dozens of countries around the world, including Bahrain, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan, have imposed their independent sanctions on Iran during this period. However, the U.S. and the European Union have also shown willingness to lift their independent sanctions against Iran following last week's nuclear agreement. Hours after the voting on Monday in the Security Council, the foreign ministers of the EU member states are also set to meet on Monday, July 29, at the EU headquarters. Given the significant impact of the Security Council voting results on the afternoon meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels, the Security Council will begin the voting process earlier than usual, starting at 9 AM New York time, 5:30 PM Iran time. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated on Saturday during Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran that there are "concerns" regarding the Security Council resolution, but added, "We hope that, by God's grace, they will be resolved." However, he did not provide further details regarding the "concerns." The UN issued two resolutions against Iran early in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and amid escalating tensions between Iran and global powers. Since March 8, 2006, when the IAEA Board of Governors referred Iran's case to the Security Council, six resolutions have been issued against Iran under Chapter VII of the Security Council. The Security Council resolutions against Iran obligated all 193 members of the organization to comply with them.