Veto-wielding China says ‘no’ to Iran sanctions

press tv
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:01:36 GMT

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang
As US President Barack Obama plans to pay his first official visit to
Beijing, China signals its opposition to new sanctions on Iran over
its nuclear program.

The Chinese government believes that negotiation sides should make
efforts to settle issues regarding Iran’s nuclear case through
"political and diplomatic" talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang
told IRNA on Saturday.

He added that a diplomatic and permanent solution to Iran’s nuclear
issue will help bring about peace and stability to the Middle East.

As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has
the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, said the
spokesman.

Qin’s remarks came one day ahead of a scheduled visit by President
Obama to China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Obama
is expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear case with his Chinese
counterpart.

Major world powers, spearheaded by the US and Israel, accuse Iran of
efforts to develop a nuclear bomb and based on such allegations have
threatened to impose more sanctions against the country.

This is while Obama, in a Thursday letter to the Congress, renewed US
sanctions against Iran for another year.

Tehran, however, has denied seeking nuclear weapons and called for the
removal of all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from across the
globe, including those held in the US.

Although the accusations have never been proven by any of the powers
or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – which has been
monitoring the Iranian program extensively and inspecting its
facilities since 2003 – the United Nations Security Council has
imposed three rounds of sanctions resolutions against Tehran.