UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday failed to adopt a resolution that would have extended the 2015 Iran nuclear deal for six months to allow time for diplomacy.

The draft resolution, tabled by China and Russia, won four votes in favor and nine votes against, with two abstentions, failing to get the nine positive votes required for adoption.

If adopted, the draft resolution would have extended the nuclear deal between Iran and the six countries of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, as well as Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the deal, for six months, and would have prevented a "snapback" of UN sanctions against Iran.

Friday's voting result was exactly the same as that on Sept. 19 on a draft resolution put forward by the Republic of Korea in its capacity as Security Council president for the month of September, which, if adopted, would have continued to provide sanctions relief for Iran.

Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia voted in favor of Friday's draft resolution. Guyana and the Republic of Korea abstained. The remaining nine members of the Security Council voted against it.

Britain, France and Germany -- the three European countries in the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- claimed they triggered the snapback mechanism on Aug. 28 by notifying the Security Council of Tehran's "non-performance."

Under Resolution 2231, the UN sanctions in place before the resolution's adoption would resume 30 days after the notification, unless the Security Council adopts a resolution to decide otherwise. The Sept. 19 draft resolution to that effect failed.

However, the legality of the three countries' move has been questioned as it has skipped the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) provided for in the JCPOA and Resolution 2231.

Under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, the DRM has 35 days to resolve the disagreement. A snapback can be triggered only after the DRM fails to resolve the issue.

Resolution 2231 expires on Oct. 18, 2025, after which time the Security Council would stop considering the Iran nuclear deal. ■