Iranian media shared reactions on Saturday, August 15 to the United Nations Security Council's rejection of the resolution suggested by the United States to extend the arms embargo against Iran beyond October 18.
While the rejection was widely expected, the Security Council vote set the stage for the US to start the “snapback” process, attempting to restore all previous sanctions against Iran, per the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Semi-official news agency ISNA carried a commentary on Saturday with the headline "International Community's Strong No to the United States." ISNA wrote that "the international community that was once used by big powers to exert pressure on various countries in order to further their policies has behaved differently as the rules of the game changed upon the exiting of one of its members."
ISNA wrote that "the international community has been always against Iran during the past 40 years, but it is now standing by Iran thanks to Tehran's resistance and constructive interaction with the world."
Noting the vote’s unprecedented outcome of the U.S. only winning one vote in the Security Council, ISNA's commentary opined that the international community seemed to send a message to the U.S. that "we are no longer with you," adding that resorting to the snapback clause will not be fruitful for the U.S.
Pro-reform news website Fararu noted that "Iran has warned the United States about activating the trigger mechanism" of the nuclear deal, and conservative website Tabnak described the Security Council vote against the U.S.-sponsored resolution as "a heavy defeat for Washington."
Tabanak noted that the United States managed to secure the vote of only one country, the Dominican Republic, for its proposed resolution. In order to be approved by the Security Council, the resolution needed at least nine affirmative votes, and no negative votes by any one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
"[Security Council] members opposed the United States' resolution because it was like shooting the final bullet at the nuclear deal with Tehran," Tabnak wrote, adding that "the United States has experienced the bitter taste of a diplomatic defeat."
The official news agency IRNA did not feature a commentary on the matter until Saturday afternoon, but quoted a commentary aired by the China Global Television Network CGTN, saying, "The United States has become increasingly isolated at the United Nations Security Council since President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018."
IRGC-linked news agency Tasnim highlighted the United States' emphasis on activating the trigger mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), adding that Iran has warned Washington about using the trigger mechanism in order to restore previous sanctions against Iran.
A commentary in the Rouhani Administration's daily newspaper iran, which ran prior to the Security Council’s vote, highlighted "the United States' frustration as big and small states refuse to vote for the anti-Iranian resolution."
One of the most strongly-worded commentaries on the Security Council vote was published by the Khorasan daily, which is close to the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Headlined "The United States' begging for vote did not work," Khorasan wrote, "This was an unprecedented historic diplomatic defeat for the United States and a sweet victory for Iran. Such a development was hardly imaginable for the United States."
Khorasan noted that, following the rejection of the resolution, the U.S. is likely to look for another outlet to exert pressure on Iran.
Meanwhile, conservative news website Alef characterized the rejection of the U.S.-sponsored resolution as "a diplomatic catastrophe for America," and added that US officials did not expect such a result from the Security Council.
Alef opined that U.S. officials knew that their resolution was not going to be welcomed, but they did not expect such a defeat.