Russia and China have ended the United Nations Security Council mandate for the independent monitoring of international sanctions on Iran, reviving their argument that all UN measures on Tehran had been removed under a nuclear deal with world powers, Reuters reports.

Both countries vetoed a resolution that could have extended the mandate for the independent monitoring of sanctions. Eleven council members voted in favour, while Pakistan and Somalia abstained.

“We strongly urge Western colleagues to stop their very dangerous actions on the Iran front, which threaten further complication of settling of the crisis in the Persian Gulf,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UNSC.

“The only way to resolve disagreements and to alleviate concerns … pertaining to the Iranian nuclear program is through political and diplomatic efforts.”