China appeals for restraint, calls for dialogue

China yesterday called on all parties to uphold the Iranian nuclear pact after Tehran said it would end curbs on its uranium enrichment stockpile unless other powers helped it bypass renewed US sanctions.

“Maintaining and implementing the comprehensive agreement is the shared responsibility of all parties,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing.

“We call on all relevant parties to exercise restraint, strengthen dialogue and avoid escalating tensions,” he said, adding that China “resolutely opposes” unilateral US sanctions against Iran.

“We regret that the US has further aggravated the tension on the Iranian nuclear issue,” Geng said. He said China appreciated Iran’s “strict implementation” of its 2015 nuclear deal.

China is one of six parties that signed a 2015 deal to lift nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran’s agreement to rein in nuclear activities and ease fears it was seeking the capability to produce an atomic bomb.

The renewed sanctions have had a severe effect on the Iranian economy.