Beijing Seeking End of ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Tehran

EghtesadOnline: China has called on the United States to stop its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran and its threats of deploying additional troops to the Middle East, stressing that Washington should find a diplomatic solution to reduce tensions in the region.

News ID: ۷۴۹۱۲۶

08 December 2019

"The United States is not only unilaterally withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the formal name of the nuclear deal signed between Iran and major world powers in 2015] and exerting maximum pressure on Iran, but is also imposing sanctions or threatening to impose sanctions on other parties within the agreement," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in a press conference on Friday, according to the website of the ministry.

“The US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and its maximum pressure campaign against Iran are the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis," Financial Tribune quoted her as saying.

The Chinese spokeswoman expressed hope that all parties to the JCPOA will continue to work for the "full and effective" implementation of the accord and restore the balance of rights and obligations.

She called on the signatories to exercise restraint and work to resolve differences by stepping up negotiations, and refrain from steps that could further complicate the situation.

Hua noted that Beijing would continue to work with all sides to "facilitate a political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue."

Erroneous Policy

The Chinese spokeswoman noted that the US should "correct its erroneous policy" of exerting pressure on Iran, leave room for diplomatic efforts by other parties and create conditions to mitigate the situation in the region.

She warned that Washington's decisions, including its withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, are only serving to complicate the situation in the region.

"We continue to believe that dialogue and negotiations are the only correct way to resolve Iran's nuclear issue," Hua said.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the international deal, in defiance of global criticism, and later reimposed sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

In response to the move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in keeping with articles 26 and 36, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be “reversible” as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield mutual trade from the sanctions.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said last week that the international community has a responsibility to protect the 2015 nuclear deal that was the fruit of a multilateral endeavor.

"JCPOA is an achievement of international diplomacy and world countries are responsible for observing, implementing and protecting it," Araqchi said at a joint press conference with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in Beijing.