United Nations – Russia and China are forcing the U.N. Security Council to vote Friday on a resolution that would give Iran a six-month extension before sanctions related to its nuclear program are reimposed.

The last-ditch effort by Iran's few and closest allies is unlikely to garner enough support to pass the 15-member council. It comes a day before a series of U.N. sanctions are set to take effect as outlined in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.

Britain, Germany and France, known as the E3, triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism last month after accusing Tehra

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