Amid strained ties with US, China has reiterated its support to Iran on the nuclear issue

China’s Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, expressed support for Iran in protecting its rights and interests regarding the nuclear issue. He also urged other parties to continue engaging in dialogue and negotiation. He stated that China will continue to play its role in the matter in its own way, and this statement was made during a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, where the latter updated Qin on the latest developments in the discussions to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US and other Western countries have argued that the nuclear talks were stalled due to Iran’s demands unrelated to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which was a deal made in 2015 and scrapped by former US President Donald Trump in 2018. Qin stated that China views its relationship with Iran from a long-term and strategic perspective and is working to advance the comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries in order to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership. He also expressed support for Iran in protecting its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stated that China is willing to work with Iran to uphold basic norms of international relations such as non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and to preserve the common interests of developing countries, and safeguard international fairness and justice.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahain, stated that Tehran is committed to working with Beijing to firmly support each other on issues related to their core interests, territorial integrity, and sovereignty. He also expressed support for China playing a larger role in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and stated that Iran is willing to strengthen cooperation under this framework.

What is the JCPOA?

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, is an international agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and a group of world powers (the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, and Germany) to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to reduce its number of centrifuges (used to enrich uranium) and limit its stockpile of enriched uranium, among other measures, in order to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

The JCPOA faced criticism from some quarters, particularly from the United States under the Trump Administration. Some of the main criticisms of the JCPOA include: The deal does not address other concerns about Iran’s behavior, such as its support for terrorism and human rights abuses. The deal does not permanently prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, as some of the limits on its nuclear program will expire after a number of years. The deal did not address the fact that Iran was not in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and was not in full compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. The deal gave Iran access to billions of dollars in previously frozen assets, which critics argue could be used to fund terrorism and other destabilising activities. The deal did not address the fact that Iran was not in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and was not in full compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. The Trump Administration had withdrawn from the deal in 2018, citing these reasons and the fact that the deal did not address the country’s missile program and support to proxy groups in the middle east.