Sep 18, 2015 Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif recently met with the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a visit to Beijing. Prior to the meeting, the Iranian Foreign Minister called out to the united states to maintain its commitment to the recent nuclear deal, which offers Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbing Iran’s nuclear program.
Speaking at a news conference, the Iranian foreign minister said:
“In terms of the future of the Iranian nuclear agreement, if there are any political changes in the U.S, I can say that in accordance with international law once the government of any country makes a commitment, the next government also has the obligation to accept and take on and continue to respect that commitment, and the U.S. government has already accepted to stop sanctions on Iran.”
Under the deal, all sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted. In exchange, Iran will agree to a long-term plan to curb its nuclear programme.
China, which is Iran’s largest oil client, has been closely involved in the multilateral agreement over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme. The deal has met with strong opposition by groups in the United States. When questioned about the widespread opposition to the deal, Zarif said:
“In regards to your first question unfortunately a group of people in America and group of people in our region, particularly the Zionist regime, are seeking to benefit from conflict and crises,”
China has long been a low-key diplomatic player in the region, despite its reliance on Middle Eastern oil. The Asian giant has long rallied against the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and Europe, though supporting those imposed by the U.N.
“China calls on all sides to continue to meet each other half way, to empathise with and understand each other and not to blame others at the slightest pretext. At the same time maintaining equal treatment and firmly sticking to the key principles,” said Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi