Responsibility for the stalemate over Tehran’s nuclear program lies with the US, UK, Germany, and France, Beijing has said
Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Beijing has said.
China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Sun Lei, made the statement to the General Assembly on Thursday.
“As a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the NPT, Iran should honor its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should be respected,” Sun said in a plenary meeting on the use of the veto.
The debate followed a vote in September in which China and Russia blocked a resolution submitted by the US to extend the mandate of a UN sanctions watchdog panel on Iran sanctions.
The monitoring body was reinstated as part of the ‘snapback’ mechanism invoked in August by the UK, France, and Germany (the E3), aimed at reimposing sanctions. China and Russia consider the snapback legally invalid and maintain that the sanctions were not restored.
According to Sun, China used its veto to “uphold a correct understanding of right and wrong,” support a political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, address non-proliferation concerns, and promote long-term peace and stability in the Middle East.
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