BEIJING (Dispatches) --
China has reiterated its support for the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, saying “diplomatic efforts” and “concrete actions” are key to a smooth restart of talks between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries slated to be held in the Austrian capital of Vienna later this month.
“All parties should step up diplomatic efforts and take concrete actions to push for a smooth restart of negotiations on resuming compliance with the JCPOA and achieve positive results,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
He expressed hope that all relevant parties would pay heed to the “overall interest, be rational and exercise restraint, and avoid disrupting diplomatic efforts to advance the negotiations”.
Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 – Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – are expected to hold the seventh round of discussions in Vienna on November 29. The negotiations were paused in June, when Iran held its presidential election. Since then, the new Iranian administration has been reviewing the details of the six rounds of discussions held under the previous administration.
The U.S. and its allies have stepped up their hostile acts against the Islamic Republic ahead of the negotiations.
On Thursday, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against six Iranians and one Iranian group, accusing them of trying to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The accusation came a day after American, British and Australian officials baselessly claimed that hackers linked to the Iranian government had been targeting a “broad range of victims” inside the U.S., including by deploying ransomware.
A statement issued on Thursday following a meeting in Riyadh between U.S. point man on Iran Robert Malley, European envoys, and officials from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council also repeated their Iranophobic remarks concerning the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work and its regional influence.
President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to rejoin the nuclear pact, but he has taken no practical measure to undo his predecessor’s wrongs.
In a tweet on Thursday, Iran’s top negotiator Ali Baqeri-Kani said the forthcoming talks in Vienna will succeed if the P4+1 group of countries have a “firm determination” and stand “practically” ready to remove U.S. sanctions.