Zarif: China ‘pivotal’ to saving Iran nuclear deal

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‍Iran on Friday said China was “pivotal” to salvaging the landmark multilateral nuclear deal from which the US withdrew unilaterally earlier this year.

The assessment follows Beijing's assertion that it will not slash oil imports from Tehran under Washington’s pressure and will work with all parties to safeguard the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, whose technical name is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"The role of China in the implementation of JCPOA, in achieving JCPOA, and now in sustaining JCPOA, will be pivotal," Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said after meeting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting.

The nuclear deal was signed between Iran and six world powers – China, Russia, US, France, UK and Germany (known as the P5+1) – after decades of negotiations. International sanctions on Iran were lifted under the agreement in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in May, reimposing a slew of sanctions which take effect on August 6, and urging allies to cut imports of Iranian oil by November. The US has threatened sanctions against countries that continue to buy Iranian oil.

China has rejected the US demand and on Friday reiterated its official position against unilateral sanctions and what it described as the “long-arm jurisdiction” without naming the US.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang addresses a press conference in Beijing on August 3, 2018. /Photo via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“China and Iran, under the precondition of not violating their respective international obligations, have maintained normal exchanges and cooperation. This is reasonable, legitimate, legal and beyond reproach,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference in Beijing in response to a question as to whether China has rejected the US request to cut oil imports from Iran.

“Meanwhile, China is always opposed to unilateral sanction and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’. China's legitimate rights and interests should be upheld. This position is firm and clear.”

China, along with Iran and other signatories, has been constantly trying to salvage the deal. Foreign ministers from the six countries met in the Austrian capital of Vienna last month to “prevent the disintegration” of the landmark pact.

Related story: Five powers, Iran aim to uphold nuclear deal in Vienna meet

Wang, who represented China in the Vienna talks, reiterated during his meeting with Zarif in Singapore that Beijing is willing to work with all stakeholders to continue safeguarding the Iran nuclear deal, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

“China always holds the view that JCPOA is a multilateral deal which is verified and approved by the United Nations Security Council and accords the common interests of all parties and the international community, which must be respected and safeguarded so as to maintain the authority of the United Nations, the effectiveness of multilateral deals and the credibility of the international rules,” Wang said.

Stating that Iran and China are strategic partners, Zarif lauded the important role Beijing has played in hammering out and implementing the deal, Xinhua reported.

Stressing on Tehran’s willingness to safeguard the deal, the Iranian foreign minister hoped that the US would “listen to the voices of the international community and reverse its wrongdoings.”

Last month, Trump had appeared to suggest that the US and Iran could meet "any time," a position that was promptly rejected by Iran as "a humiliation" against the backdrop of the US reimposition of sanctions.

[Cover: China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, on August 3, 2018. /AP Photo]

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