US expresses interest in working with China to curb Iran’s nuclear programme
- State Department spokesman Ned Price cites a ‘tactical alignment’ with Beijing on Iran
- Comments come amid diplomatic blitz by China in Iran and other countries in the region
“Competition, as you know, does define our relationship with China, but we do have, in some cases, rather narrow areas of tactical alignment,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “It so happens that Iran is one of them.”
“China has been cooperative in efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme,” he said. “Beijing … has no interest in seeing Iran develop a nuclear weapon and the profoundly destabilising impact that would have in a region upon which China does depend.”
“We have been engaged with all parties, to include China, on the question of the [Iran nuclear deal] and what comes next,” he added, referring to the pact that China and five other powers – the US, Britain, France, Germany and Russia – signed with Iran in 2015.
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US-Iran tension: Where does China stand?
The deal restricted Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden’s predecessor, pulled the United States out of the agreement in 2018.