United Nations and Multilateral Diplomacy

At a Dec. 23, 2025 U.N. Security Council session, Iranian and U.S. diplomats both vowed commitment to diplomacy but exposed a deep rift over nuclear terms, with Washington insisting on zero uranium enrichment inside Iran while Tehran rejected that as violating its rights under the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s U.N. ambassador said his country remains committed to the core principles of the 2015 agreement and urged the U.S., France and Britain to rebuild trust, as Western envoys defended their September move to trigger a ‘snapback’ of U.N. sanctions and the IAEA reported Iran now holds more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, just short of weapons‑grade. The rare direct exchange underscored that formal U.S.–Iran nuclear talks remain stalled since Israel’s June war with Iran and U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.