Delivered by Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in New York

As we gather today, our longstanding concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme remain relevant and serious.

The IAEA’s last quarterly report, published last week, is alarming in this regard: it reiterates that Iran is the only state without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium up to 60%. There is no credible civilian justification for detaining over 400kg of uranium enriched at such levels. This means Iran has more than ten IAEA “significant quantities” of High Enriched Uranium, which is the amount of material from which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear device cannot be excluded.

Iran has also persistently failed to fulfil its safeguards obligations and fully cooperate with the IAEA, which is unable to confirm that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. It has been a year since inspectors have last set foot on Iran’s most proliferation-sensitive facilities. We reaffirm our support for the IAEA’s indispensable role in upholding the international non-proliferation regime.

Iran’s significant non-performance with its JCPoA commitments is what led France, Germany and the United Kingdom to trigger the snapback mechanism on 28 August 2025. This action was taken in full accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2231.

Pursuant to resolution 2231, the Security Council voted, on 19 September 2025, on a resolution that would have permanently lifted international restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme. The outcome of the vote was an unambiguous no. As a result, and in accordance with resolution 2231, the snapback process was completed on 27 September 2025, and six previously lifted UN Security Council resolutions have been reinstated. This has been confirmed on numerous occasions by the UN Secretariat. These resolutions must now be fully implemented by all Member States, as required by the UN Charter.

The sanctions imposed by these resolutions are aimed at constraining Iran’s capacity to develop and deliver a nuclear weapon, and entail restrictions on activities, individuals and entities pertaining to this objective, including on Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The 1737 committee has also been re-established. We call for the prompt appointment of a Chair to ensure the Committee can effectively oversee implementation of the sanctions and respond to issues of compliance.

The Panel of Experts must also be appointed without further delay. Its role is critical to support the Committee, monitor implementation, investigate and document violations, identify sanctions-evasion trends, and provide technical assistance to Member States.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to finding a lasting and sustainable diplomatic solution that ensures Iran shall never seek, acquire or develop a nuclear weapon. Only a credible, robust and verifiable agreement will address the Iranian nuclear question in a viable manner.