China Says JCPOA Implementation only Way to Ease Tensions
China says ensuring the complete and effective implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers is the only way to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Wednesday that all parties to the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had maintained close communication and consultation for some time, and all stressed firm commitment to safeguarding and implementing the agreement.
Lu added that ensuring the complete and effective implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement is not only a requirement of the UN Security Council resolution 2231 that endorses the JCPOA, but also the only realistic and effective way to ease tensions and solve the Iran nuclear issue.
“China will work with relevant parties to continue making efforts for that goal and meanwhile firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
Last year, US President Donald Trump stoked tensions with Iran after he unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against Tehran despite international objections.
The US further heightened tensions after it dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber taskforce, and an assault ship to the Persian Gulf earlier this month, citing an alleged likelihood that Iran could target American interests in the region.
Recently, the White House has, however, sent mixed signals over its stance regarding Iran.
Just days after saying he was ready for talks, Trump issued a direct threat to Iran, saying the Islamic Republic would be destroyed if it attacked US interests.
“If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.
Trump posted his anti-Iran tweet after a Sunday night rocket attack on the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where the Iraqi government’s administrative buildings and foreign missions, including the US embassy, are located.
Soon afterwards, though, he downplayed what he has been trumpeting as “Iran’s threat” to the region and the US interests.
“We have no indication that anything’s happened or will happen,” he told reporters at the White House on Monday when asked about Iran’s alleged threat to US interests, adding: “We have no indication that they will.”
No one claimed responsibility for the attack on the heavy fortified “Green Zone” in Baghdad, which came in the wake of back-to-back sudden decisions taken by the US recently, including its withdrawal of “non-essential” staff from Iraq.
Although the apparent Katyusha attack hurt no one and its target was not specified, Trump was quick to point the finger at Iran.
In separate remarks on Tuesday, the Chinese spokesperson reacted to the rocket attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad, and said that China had exchanged ideas with Iran, the US and other sides on the issue.
“We have made clear our position that conflict and confrontation will lead us nowhere and that dialogue and consultation is the only way out. We hope relevant parties can exercise restraint and step up dialogue to properly address each other’s concerns,” Lu said.
On Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran will not bow to bullies.
Rouhani said in the country’s northwestern West Azarbaijan Province that the Iranian nation may be under pressure, but will not “bow its head in the face of bullies.”
“Holding onto premature perceptions, they had thought they would be able to shatter Iran’s grandeur,” he said, adding, however, that “we have been witnessing prosperity across this land every day in this tough time and under sanctions.”
“This is a very decisive response to the White House…and to those who reckon they can make the great nation of Iran buckle under their pressures,” the president noted.
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