‘The enemies are seeking to sanction Iran because the country refuses to bow and won’t accept humiliation,’ President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, dismissing anti-Iran ambitions as a ‘mere pipe dream’.
‘They want to force us to submit to base and vile people, but even imagining that has no place in my mind,’ Pezeshkian said. ‘Bringing Iran and our people to their knees is a pipe dream.’
On Sunday, the United Nations Security Council restored the anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.
The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with the Islamic Republic and target the country’s defensive missile programme.
The move came nearly two days after the United States and its allies vetoed a draft resolution submitted by China and Russia to delay the so-called ‘snapback’ mechanism contained in the original 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal which would reimpose all anti-Iran sanctions should the country try to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran does have a nuclear power programme but it is entirely for peaceful development of domestic energy.
Nevertheless, the United States claimed, without evidence, that Iran had enriched its stockpile of uranium to 60 per cent purity, just below weapons grade, and used this as an excuse for the US airforce and navy to attack three Iranian nuclear facilities on 22nd June this year – which failed to knock out the country’s energy programme.
Pezeshkian said the government will do everything for the nation’s dignity, and strive to solve problems and use all resources for the people, who are targeted by these revived economic sanctions.
The president recalled that the adversaries never expected Iranians to unite during the twelve days of the US-Israel war in June. ‘They assumed Iran had weakened, but the people’s steadfastness upset all their calculations.’
He criticised the American and European politicians who speak of human rights and democracy, adding: ‘Take a look at what they’re doing in Gaza. A regime that has sown chaos in the region has not once been sanctioned in the Security Council because the United States erases decisions with a veto.’
The notion of human rights, the United Nations and UNESCO are nothing but lies, the president said, ‘because innocents are being killed before their eyes and Israel attacks any country it wishes.’
In a formal letter dated September 28, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, addressed UN Secretary General António Guterres and the president of the UN Security Council, expressing Iran’s strong objection to the Secretariat’s action.
He said Security Council Resolution 2231 does not provide any mandate whatsoever to the Secretary General or the Secretariat to ‘determine, declare, or notify’ member states about the so-called reapplication of terminated resolutions.
‘The resolution sets out a specific mechanism under operative paragraphs 11 and 12, placing the matter exclusively within the purview of the Security Council,’ he added.
He emphasised that the Secretariat’s unilateral move exceeds its authority and trespasses into the domain of the Security Council.
He recalled October 2020, when the US similarly tried to trigger the ‘snapback’ mechanism, but deep divisions within the Security Council over the validity of such action prevented the Secretariat from taking any unilateral or administrative steps effect it.
‘The restraint shown at that time reaffirmed the absence of any mandate under Resolution 2231 for the Secretariat to act independently in this highly contested matter,’ Iravani explained.
The Iranian envoy said the Secretariat has now sided with the three European countries – Germany, Britain and France known as the E3 – and the United States by deliberately issuing this notification despite evident and fundamental disagreement among member states, and in the face of the lack of consensus at the Council’s meeting on September 19, 2025.
‘This action constitutes a serious breach of Article 100 of the Charter, which obliges the Secretary General and the staff of the Secretariat to refrain from seeking or receiving instructions from any member or external authority, and to maintain the highest standard of independence and impartiality,’ Iravani pointed out.
On September 19, the 15-member Security Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have prevented the re-imposition of UN sanctions on Iran after the E3 triggered the ‘snapback’ mechanism and accused Tehran of failing to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
A subsequent resolution, which sought to grant a six-month extension to both the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, also failed to pass at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday.
The Council restored the bans on Sunday at midnight GMT. They will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with the Islamic Republic and target the country’s defensive missile programme.
Iran says the Security Council’s failure to endorse a draft resolution on extending Resolution 2231 is a clear manifestation of the so-called rules-based order.
Iravani warned that the Secretariat’s partiality undermines its credibility as an international civil service.
He also cautioned that such conduct severely damages the members’ confidence in the Office of Secretariat and sets a dangerous precedent of politicisation of the Secretariat’s role.
‘The Islamic Republic of Iran firmly rejects the action taken by the Secretariat today as null and void, lacking any legal basis, and in direct contravention of the Charter,’ the ambassador reiterated.
He stressed the importance of swift rectification of such a grave breach, urging the Secretariat to give assurances that it will fully respect its obligations under Article 100 of the UN Charter, refraining from any further action or interference in matters.
Iravani’s letter came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote to his counterparts around the world, saying recent assertions by the United States and the European E3 troika that terminated Security Council resolutions had been ‘restored’ were ‘entirely unfounded, unlawful, and invalid’.
Last month, the E3 invoked the so-called snapback mechanism, a 30-day process to restore all anti-Iran sanctions.
Iran rejected the move as illegitimate, citing the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and the European trio’s decision to align with unlawful sanctions rather than fulfilling their JCPOA obligations.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian slammed the re-imposition of UN sanctions as ‘unacceptable,’ saying that Tehran remained at the negotiating table ‘until the last moment’ in pursuit of a fair solution.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Pezeshkian denounced the United States’ irrational behaviour toward Iran’s sincere diplomatic efforts on the nuclear issue.
On Friday, the US and its allies, the so-called European troika, vetoed a draft resolution from Russia and China that sought to delay the imposition of the snapback mechanism that would reinstate the allies’ and the UN Security Council’s nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.
Pezeshkian stated that ‘any restrictions and sanctions are definitely reprehensible and unacceptable from our point of view,’ adding: ‘We have been present at the negotiating table until the last moment to clarify and reach a fair and logical solution.’
He criticised the other side for wanting ‘to take all our assets in exchange for a few months’ opportunity’ before raising ‘new demands’ – an approach he said that ‘will never be accepted.’
He pointed to the US’s bullying tactics, saying ‘the bullies will never be satisfied with us unless we submit to their will; however, this will never happen.’
Pezeshkian also pointed to the failed attempts of the Americans to disrupt and sabotage Iran’s exports at the height of sanctions and war.
He contrasted Iran’s natural resources and wealth with other nations, stating: ‘Many countries in the world not only do not have oil and gas resources, but are forced to import them to meet their domestic needs; however, they have taken the path of development and progress with seriousness.’
Iran, by relying on ‘the power of experts, elites, and the empathy of the people, will be able to reduce its dependence on oil resources and continue its development programmes with strength.’
Pezeshkian again reiterated that Iran has ‘never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and we do not,’ a stance rooted not only in official policy but in a religious fatwa and principles.
He expressed Iran’s readiness for a ‘logical, fair’ dialogue but rejected any negotiation that would entangle the nation in ‘new issues and problems’.