Iran nuclear talks: China praises ‘positive steps’ from US, Europe to revive 2015 deal

Name: China calls for Iran sanctions relief and US return to nuclear deal
Uploaded: 2022-02-09T14:03:09.000Z
Duration: 2 min 3 s
Description: China calls for Iran sanctions relief and US return to nuclear deal

US should lift all related unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties, including China, Beijing’s envoy to UN in Vienna says

China never wanted to play a key role in the talks, but sees how important it is to have deal go through, notes Middle East expert in Shanghai

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Iranian chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives for a meeting in Vienna on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Minnie Chan

Published: 10:03pm, 9 Feb 2022Updated: 11:18pm, 9 Feb 2022

Recent US and European moves on the Iran nuclear issue were “a positive step” towards seeking a resolution, China said, as it called on Tehran to fulfil its end of the bargain.

This came as representatives from Iran and other signatories to the stalled 2015 Iran nuclear agreement – including China – reconvened in Vienna in a bid to revive the deal.

The ongoing talks were “making positive progress”, Wang Qun, China’s envoy to the United Nations in Vienna, said on the sidelines of the talks on Tuesday. Recent US sanctions waivers on Iran’s civil nuclear programme were “positive steps”, he added.

02:03

China calls for Iran sanctions relief and US return to nuclear deal

“China hopes Iran could make a relevant response to take some steps, and try to come up with written feedback on the proposed package for discussion by all parties,” Xinhua cited Wang as saying.

The 2015 nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was an agreement reached with Iran by the US, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, to offer Tehran sanctions relief in return for halting uranium enrichment. The deal stalled in 2018 after then US president Donald Trump withdrew unilaterally.

The countries concerned have been negotiating in Vienna, with indirect US participation, since last year.

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“The US, as the originator of the current Iran nuclear crisis, should lift all related unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties, including China, in order to regain the trust of the international community, while Iran should again comprehensively fulfil its obligations on this basis,” Wang told reporters in Vienna.