Widespread UN sanctions against Iran returned into force for the first time in a decade, after last-ditch nuclear talks with Western powers failed to produce a breakthrough.

The sanctions, two months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran, bar dealings related to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles program but are expected to have wider effects on a troubled economy.

Iran allowed UN inspectors to return to its nuclear sites, but Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States had offered only a short reprieve in return for handing over its whole stockpile of enriched uranium, a proposal he described as unacceptable.

An 11th-hour effort by Iran allies Russia and China to postpone the sanctions until April failed to win enough votes in the Security Council on Friday, leading to the measures taking effect at 1am Irish time this morning.

Germany, which triggered the return of sanctions alongside Britain and France, had “no choice” as Iran was not complying with its obligations, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

“For us, it is imperative: Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon,” he told the UN General Assembly.

“But let me emphasize: we remain open to negotiations on a new agreement. Diplomacy can and should continue.”

Russia made clear it would not enforce the sanctions, considering them invalid.

The sanctions “finally exposed the West’s policy of sabotaging the pursuit of constructive solutions in the UN Security Council, as well as its desire to extract unilateral concessions from Tehran through blackmail and pressure,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

No longer just US sanctions

The sanctions are a “snapback” of measures frozen in 2015 when Iran agreed to major restrictions on its nuclear program under a deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama.

The United States already imposed massive sanctions, including trying to force all countries to shun Iranian oil, when President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in his first term.

Iran and the United States had held several rounds of Omani-brokered talks earlier this year before they collapsed in June when first Israel and then the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on UN member states “to implement snapback sanctions immediately in order to pressure Iran’s leaders to do what is right for their nation, and best for the safety of the world.”

He also urged Iran to “accept direct talks, held in good faith, without stalling or obfuscation.”

Iran recalled its envoys from Britain, France and Germany for consultations, state television reported.

Economic ‘malaise’

The United States already enforces unilateral sanctions on Iran and has put huge pressure on third countries to stop buying Iranian oil, although China has defied the pressure.

Brussels-based think tank the International Crisis Group said Iran seemed dismissive of the renewed UN sanctions as it had already worked out how to cope with US sanctions.

However, it noted that the snapback was not easy to reverse as it would require consensus at the Security Council.

“It is also likely to compound the malaise around an economy already struggling with high inflation, currency woes and deepening infrastructure problems,” it said.

In an address to the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged no delay in reinstating the sanctions.

The Israeli leader also hinted that Israel was ready to take further military action after the 12 days of bombing that Iranian authorities say killed more than 1,000 people in June.

The fisherman who lost his life off the north west coast has been named locally as Kevin McCloskey.

Mr Mc Closkey’s body was recovered by a vessel in the search off Teileann in Co Donegal just before 6pm yesterday evening.

Many people in the fishing and coastal community have paid tribute to Mr McCloskey and have expressed their sympathies on his passing.

A tribute published on the Fishing Daily said Kevin McCloskey was a well-known fisherman who had spent his life fishing from Killybegs.

Lough Swilly RNLI said their thoughts were with Kevin McCloskey’s family and friends as well as their fellow search and rescue colleagues.

Sinn Féin’s Fisheries spokesperson Pádraig MacLochlainn said it was another heart-breaking tragedy for the fishing communities as he also extended his sympathy.

The Irish & UK fishing Industries journal, The Skipper extended its deepest condolences and sympathies to Kevin McCloskey’s family and friends.

LAST – a fisherman’s charity that supports bereaved families of those lost at sea said it extended its deepest sympathies to Kevin McCloskey’s family and friends at the time of tragedy.

On Thursday evening, a member of the public alerted the Malin Head Coordination Centre after they found a boat that had run aground, about 4km south of Mullaghmore Head in Co Sligo.

It is believed that the fisherman fell overboard from the vessel as the engine was running when the vessel was discovered on the Sligo coastline.

A multi-agency search off Mullaghmore and in the greater Donegal bay area concluded this evening following three days of intensive searching coordinated by the Coast Guard at Malin Head Maritime Rescue Sub Centre.

The Coast Guard extended their sympathy to the family of the bereaved fisherman and it thanked all the search units and local fishing vessels along with An Garda Síochána and the local community for their support.

The UK Labour Party conference is under way in Liverpool this morning.

It comes as the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces increasing pressure over his leadership of the party as Reform UK leads opinion polls.

Ahead of this year’s conference, Mr Starmer announced plans to introduce mandatory ID cards, insisting that it will help reduce irregular migration to the UK.

However, the policy has been strongly criticised by opposition parties.

At a fringe event later this evening, the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald will also criticise the proposal.

Ms McDonald is expected to tell attendees that the policy is “misguided, unacceptable and clearly ludicrous”.

The Sinn Féin leader will also call on both the British and Irish Governments to prepare for a border poll in Ireland by the end of the decade.

“People must be consulted, and the two Governments must now set out proposals for delivering legal, fair and decisive referenda and a negotiated timeframe by the end of the decade”, Ms McDonald is expected to say.

The British government has already stated that this is not a priority.

There is a strong Irish element to the Labour conference in Liverpool today.

Labour MPs will gather to call on the UK government to adopt a bill known as “Philomena’s law”, named after the mother and baby home survivor Philomena Lee.

The bill will ensure that survivors of mother and baby homes, who live in the UK, can access compensation without their benefits being affected.

Traitor’s star Siobhán McSweeney, who has publicly backed the bill, is expected to address the event.

However, the overall focus of this year’s conference will be on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to reassert his authority and mandate within a party that is growing increasingly sceptical over his leadership.