On 18 October 2025, the date that was supposed to mark the formal end of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the very mechanism that anchored the Iran nuclear deal, the world instead has witnessed the widening of a profound geopolitical divide. What should have been a technical expiry of restrictions has turned into a political confrontation that underscores the erosion of Western authority and the rise of a multipolar order.

According to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Resolution 2231 was set to lapse on this date, effectively lifting the last vestiges of UN sanctions architecture against Iran. Yet, instead of closure, the United States and its European allies the so-called E3 have moved to unilaterally extend the restrictions, invoking the “snapback” mechanism that was meant to be dormant. Iran, backed by Russia, China, and more than 120 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, has categorically rejected the legitimacy of this move.

In a joint letter sent this week to the UN Secretary-General, Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing announced that they “do not recognise the validity of any unilateral extension” of Resolution 2231, framing it as a violation of international law and an abuse of multilateral institutions. For Iran, this is more than a legal argument it is a political declaration that the era of Western monopoly over global norms is ending.

What makes this moment historically significant is not merely the defiance itself, but the chorus of support Iran now finds........

© Middle East Monitor