Iran thanks Pakistan for abstaining from a vote that allowed a UN Security Council meeting on its nuclear programme to go ahead, as Tehran rejected the session as “legally unfounded”.

Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative Amir Saeid Iravani, in a statement after the meeting, specifically acknowledged Pakistan and Somalia for “not supporting the convening of this meeting”, while praising Russia and China for opposing the session.

The meeting was requested by Bahrain and five European members of the Security Council — Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia and the United Kingdom — to discuss implementation of Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, and the secretary-general’s latest report on the matter.