China urges US to make political decision regarding nuclear deal ASAP

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Mar 13:03
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The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson reiterates Iran's commitment to diplomacy and multilateral nuclear talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning (Chinese Foreign Ministry)

China considers that complete and effective cooperation is the correct path forward regarding Iran's nuclear issue.

"The U.S. should make a political decision as soon as possible to work for outcomes from the talks," said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a press briefing on Monday when asked to comment on the joint statement issued by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on their nuclear cooperation.

On his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani reiterated that Tehran acts in accordance with diplomacy and that it has indulged in the nuclear negotiations on basis of belief in a diplomatic resolution to the matter.

During his weekly press conference in Tehran, Kanaani stressed that the country's cooperation with the IAEA last week has been substantial, noting that this could pave the way for solving outstanding issues and expanding the cooperation.

In a joint statement with the nuclear watchdog on Saturday, Iran expressed readiness to provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues, referring to uranium traces at undeclared sites.

The statement came following a two-day visit by IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi to Iran as the Vienna-based organization seeks greater cooperation with Iran on its nuclear activities.

Tehran, according to the joint statement, will allow the nuclear agency to implement further verification and monitoring activities, and the modalities regarding the issue would be agreed upon in the course of a technical meeting that the joint statement said would take place in the Iranian capital "soon".

Grossi said he welcomed Iran allowing the agency to implement further verification and monitoring activities, adding that he believed that his agency could start implementing "concrete measures very soon" and that "some monitoring equipment will begin operating again."

Kanaani continued that settling technical issues would disable players that are trying to place obstacles on the return to diplomatic negotiations, however noting that the outcome of Iran's approach will be decided by the other party's behavior.

Iran is acting in accordance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is working within its legal rights when cooperating with the IAEA, he added.