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Security Council votes against delaying reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The United Nations Security Council has voted against a resolution drafted by Russia and China to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran.

In a 4-9 vote, with two abstentions, world leaders on Friday opted to reimpose sanctions owing to Iran’s nuclear programme. The sanctions are set to snap back as of 8 p.m. EST on Saturday.

France, Germany, and Britain have accused Tehran of violating the 2015 deal geared to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.

Russian and Chinese diplomats on Friday pushed for the Security Council to delay the return of sanctions, but they failed to sway enough of the other members.

Russia’s deputy UN envoy, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told the chamber that Iran had done all it could to accommodate Europeans, but that Western powers had refused to compromise.

But Jérôme Bonnafont, the permanent representative of France to the UN in New York, refuted that and said Iran had not taken any serious steps to avoid the renewal of sanctions.

Bonnafont added, however, that diplomacy should continue and that the reimposition of sanctions didn’t mean a negotiated settlement couldn’t be reached later.

This is a developing story. More details to follow…