Sarah McIntosh, the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that despite a veto on the renewal of the mandate of Iran’s panel of experts by two permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations sanctions related to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program remain fully in force and are binding on all member states.

She added that the end of the panel’s activities will make it more difficult to monitor the implementation of the sanctions and identify instances of evasion.

McIntosh said that the Islamic Republic has stockpiled more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, and that it is the only non-nuclear-weapon country that enriches uranium to this level. She added that the International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to verify the amount, composition, or location of Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, and that inspectors have been denied access to key facilities. According to her, the United Kingdom will continue to cooperate with its partners to implement United Nations sanctions and prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon.