China supports Iran’s reasonable demands,’ Xi tells Tehran amid nuclear deal uncertainty
President Xi Jinping said China would work closely with Iran on regional affairs amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Iran nuclear deal and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
In a phone call on Monday with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rowhani, the Chinese leader said he supported Iran’s “reasonable demands” in efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The call came after the United Nations nuclear watchdog said it could not reach an expected agreement on how to continue to inspect Iran’s nuclear sites.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency and signatories of the deal, including China, have been trying to bring the United States and Iran back into the 2015 deal.
Iran on Monday agreed to extend by one month the agreement allowing the IAEA to keep monitoring the sites while talks of lifting sanctions against Iran continued in Vienna.
The one-month temporary deal will expire soon after Iran’s presidential election on June 18, when conservative hardliner candidates are expected to replace the outgoing Rowhani, adding to the uncertainty of the negotiations in the Austrian capital.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China welcomed the extension of the agreement, and called on the US to return to the Iran nuclear agreement.
“The Chinese side has done a lot of work to promote the progress of the negotiation,” Zhao said on Tuesday, adding the US should also remove sanctions on Iran and other countries including China.
“The extension reflects Iran’s willingness to promote the resumption of the agreement.”
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