China urges other nations to oppose US calls for more sanctions on Iran
- It follows report of a draft 25-year investment and security deal between Beijing and Tehran
- Foreign ministry also blames Washington for Iran scaling back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear pact
China has urged other nations not to back recent US calls for more sanctions on Iran, at a time when relations between Beijing and Washington are at their lowest point in decades.
If it goes ahead, the cooperation pact would be a much-needed economic boost for Tehran, which has been hit hard by sanctions reimposed by the US after President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
China’s foreign ministry gave its latest stance on the “Iran nuclear issue” on Tuesday – five years after the deal was reached to lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for it limiting its nuclear programme.
“The international community should jointly oppose the US pushing the UN Security Council to extend or reinstate sanctions against Iran and urge the US to return to the right track of compliance with the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and UNSCR,” the foreign ministry statement said, referring to the nuclear deal and the UN resolution that endorsed it, respectively.
