China urges U.S. to stop maximum pressure on Iran for nuclear deal implementation

China called on the United States to stop its wrongdoing of putting maximum pressure on Iran and work for settling the Iran nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Maintaining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, was an important topic of a meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang speaks at a regular press conference in Beijing, on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. [Photo: fmprc]

EU's high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said the JCPOA was viable with no alternative plans, and the EU would stay committed to maintaining and implementing the deal while urging Iran to resume its full implementation.

When asked to comment on the remarks, spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press briefing that the United States, as the initiator of the current tensions, should face the concerns of the majority of the international community, abandon its wrong move of imposing maximum pressure on Iran, avoid hindering the implementation of the deal, and create conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iran nuclear issue.

Iranians walk past a graffiti on a wall of the national flag, on the eve of the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, in Tehran, Iran, May 7, 2019. [File Photo: IC]

Noting that the meeting has sent a clear signal on the EU position, Geng reiterated that the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA was the only practical and effective way to resolve the Iran nuclear issue and ease tensions.

Problems related to the implementation of the deal by Iran should be solved via the mechanism of the JCPOA Joint Commission, the spokesperson said, adding that ensuring a balance between rights and obligations prescribed in the JCPOA was vital to maintaining the deal.