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China Daily Global / 2020-01 / 07 / Page001

All sides urged to handle Iran nuclear issue in fair way

By LIU XUAN | China Daily Global | Updated: 2020-01-07 00:00

Tensions escalated in the Gulf region over the weekend as Iran distanced itself from the 2015 nuclear deal, amid growing threats and pressure from the United States.

The Iranian Cabinet said in a statement on Sunday that the country would "take the final step to reduce commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" and would not observe restrictions in operational areas, including uranium enrichment capacities, enrichment percentage, the volume of enriched material and research.

Teheran will abandon the last key restriction in the operational field put forth in the 2015 nuclear deal regarding "the limitations on the number of centrifuges", and will proceed solely based on the country's technical needs, Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

As an important party to the nuclear deal, China is highly concerned about the current situation in the Middle East, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Monday, adding that the region's peace and stability is of vital importance to the entire world.

Geng said Iran has exercised restraint although it was forced to end its commitment due to external factors. "Iran has clearly expressed its political willingness to comprehensively and effectively implement the 2015 nuclear deal and does not break obligations as stipulated by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," he said.

Iran's 2015 nuclear accord with the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US has been hanging by a thread since Washington's withdrawal in May 2018.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng said the withdrawal was "the root cause of the Iran nuclear tensions".

"It should also be the basic starting point for all related parties to deal with the Iran nuclear issue in an objective and fair way."

Iran's announcement was another sign of the fallout from Friday's killing of senior general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people in Teheran mourned the killing of Soleimani, who was the commander of the Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Geng said at a regular news conference in Beijing that the risky military behavior of the US "goes against the basic norms governing international relations as well as aggravating the tensions of the regional situation", and power politics "are neither popular nor sustainable".

Zhu Weilie, director of the Center for China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said the drone strike that killed Soleimani has caused a stir in Iran and the entire Persian Gulf region and limits the opportunities to resume the suspended talks on the nuclear deal.

Iran's decision indicated the rapid escalation of tension, while under such circumstances it will be difficult to avoid some regional conflicts, Zhu said. "We would only hope that the conflicts will be manageable and not develop into a regional war."

Zhu said the announcement also shows Iran's disappointment with European countries.

"The solution of establishing a special payment system led by the European countries has failed to meet Iran's expectation to break the economic blockade caused by US sanctions," he said. "Iran is pressing the Europeans by calling off its commitment to the nuclear deal."

The leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom reacted by urging Iran to rethink its announcement.

"We call on Iran to withdraw all measures that are not in line with the nuclear agreement," German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.

They also urged Iran to refrain from taking "further violent actions or support for them" and called on all parties involved to "show utmost restraint and responsibility".

"It is crucial now to de-escalate," they said.

Zhu emphasized that although Iran said it had reduced its commitments, it still "plays within the frame and hasn't crossed the line".

"We should see that Iran's noncompliance does not mean that it will begin to resume the development and use of nuclear weapons."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran will continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In comments posted on social media, Zarif said the latest step taken by Iran was within the remit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and "all five steps are reversible upon effective implementation of reciprocal obligations".

The Cabinet statement also said Iran will be ready to return to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal once sanctions are removed and the country gets benefits from the agreement.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (in front) and other leaders pray beside the caskets of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday. PRESIDENT'S WEBSITE/HANDOUT/REUTERS

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