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UNSC Discusses Iranian Drones, Links Them to Resolution 2231

A picture of drones broadcast by the Iranian army last August, launched from a warship during naval exercises (AP)
A picture of drones broadcast by the Iranian army last August, launched from a warship during naval exercises (AP)
    Washington, Paris – Ali Barada, Michel Abu Najm
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UNSC Discusses Iranian Drones, Links Them to Resolution 2231

A picture of drones broadcast by the Iranian army last August, launched from a warship during naval exercises (AP)
A picture of drones broadcast by the Iranian army last August, launched from a warship during naval exercises (AP)

UN Security Council diplomats are examining Iran’s transfer of drones, ballistic missiles, and even military experts to support Russia’s war in Ukraine as it violates UNSC resolution 2231, which is part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Ukrainian and western officials have affirmed that Iran is supplying Russia with weapons in contravention of UNSC resolution 2231.

The US, Britain and France have raised the file to the UNSC. Resolution 2231 was adopted by the UN’s most powerful body in 2015 to endorse the nuclear deal between Iran and six key nations — the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany.

Ukraine has called on UN experts to investigate Iran-made drones being used by Russia. The breach of obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal and UNSC resolution 2231 gives grounds to initiating the snapback mechanism for reinstating international sanctions on Iran.

US intelligence information that Iran had also sent Revolutionary Guards trainers to Crimea to help the Russian military overcome problems with the Iranian-made drone fleet also raised the level of concern among Western countries.

The European Union is working to impose new sanctions on Iran after collecting “sufficient evidence” that it is supplying Russia with deadly drones for use in Ukraine, a spokeswoman for the bloc said on Wednesday.

“Now that we have gathered our own sufficient evidence, work is ongoing in the [European] Council in view of a clear, swift, and firm EU response,” said Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

An EU diplomat revealed that there was work underway to draw up a list of Iranian individuals and entities linked to the drones who would be added to the bloc’s sanctions blacklist.

Also, French sources revealed that Europeans are considering slapping sanctions on Iran for providing the drones used by Russia in its war on Ukraine.

These sanctions will be imposed in the next few days and will be added to sanctions approved by European foreign ministers at their Oct.17 meeting, sources added.

The sanctions slapped on Iran last Monday targeted Iranian figures and bodies involved in suppressing ongoing protests there.

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Strong Earthquake Kills at Least 126 People in Tibet

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
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Strong Earthquake Kills at Least 126 People in Tibet

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)

 A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.
Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
At least 188 people were injured in Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the barren and sparsely populated region, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In video posted by the broadcaster, building debris littered streets and crushed cars.
According to The AP, people in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country's National Emergency Operation Center. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the epicenter, was empty in the depth of winter when even some residents move away to escape the cold.
The quake woke up residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter — and sent them running into the streets.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China's Earthquake Networks Center recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage.
The epicenter was in Tibet's Tingri county, where the India and Eurasia plates grind against each other and can cause earthquakes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks in the Himalayan mountains.
There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
About 150 aftershocks were recorded in the nine hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rescue people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes were damaged. More than 3,000 rescuers were deployed, CCTV said.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to guide the work, and the government announced the allocation of 100 million yuan ($13.6 million) for disaster relief.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media said. The average altitude in the area is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the Chinese earthquake center said in a social media post.
On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video showed water spilling out into the street from a pond in a courtyard with a small temple.
“It is a big earthquake," a woman can be heard saying. "People are all shaking.”