China is urging the United States to stop its maximum pressure campaign on Iran, as well as sanctions and threats of troop deployments, and calls on Washington to find a diplomatic solution in order to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2019) China is urging the United States to stop its maximum pressure campaign on Iran, as well as sanctions and threats of troop deployments, and calls on Washington to find a diplomatic solution in order to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The United States is not only unilaterally withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] and exerting maximum pressure on Iran, but is also imposing sanctions or threatening to impose sanctions on other parties within the agreement ... We urge the United States to correct its erroneous policy of exerting pressure on Iran, to leave room for diplomatic efforts by other parties and create conditions to mitigate the situation in the region," Hua Chunying told reporters at a press conference.
Hua outlined that Washington's decisions, such as leaving the JCPOA, a crucial agreement that limits Iran's nuclear capabilities, were only serving to complicate the situation in the region.
"We continue to believe that dialogue and negotiations are the only correct way to resolve Iran's nuclear issue. We hope that all parties in the JCPOA will be able to fully implement the agreement," the Chinese diplomat said.
The JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed by Iran, the European Union, and the P5+1 group � the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Russia, France plus Germany � in 2015. It stipulated that Iran considerably limit its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of international sanctions.
In 2018, the US withdrew from the deal unilaterally and imposed economic sanctions on Iran. In May 2019, Iran declared an ultimatum to the other signatories � either they attempt to relieve the economic blockade or Tehran will begin gradually dropping its commitments under the deal every 60 days.
In recent days, the US has sent mixed signals regarding the reported deployment of 14,000 troops to the Persian Gulf as a means of increasing pressure on Iran. US foreign policy has sought to apply maximum pressure on Iran, primarily through severe sanctions.
