Veto-wielding China says ‘no’ to Iran sanctions

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.