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China defends Iran's peaceful nuclear right, urges diplomacy to resolve issues

Iran Press TV

Monday, 21 July 2025 3:29 PM

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu has asserted Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy, calling for the settlement of issues through diplomacy.

In a phone conversation on Monday, Ma exchanged views with Frédéric Mondoloni, Director General of Political and Security Affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, on the Iranian nuclear issue.

"The right of Iran to peacefully utilize nuclear energy should be guaranteed. China is willing to continue playing a positive and constructive role in this regard," Ma said.

He stressed the importance of resolving issues about Iran's nuclear activities through political and diplomatic means.

Ma urged all parties to resume dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible to prevent escalation of the situation.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the Iranian nuclear issue bears on regional peace and security as well as the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

He made the comments in response to a question about Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei's announcement earlier on Monday that Iran and the European troika of Britain, France, and Germany are scheduled to hold fresh talks on Tehran's nuclear issue in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday.

Baghaei said the meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers in the presence of European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

Guo said, "China always advocates resolving the Iranian nuclear issue peacefully through political and diplomatic means. This is the only right way forward."

The Chinese spokesperson called on relevant sides to work in the same direction to place the issue back on the track of political settlement.

During his Monday weekly press briefing, Baghaei pointed to Iran's "good consultations" with Russia and China over the past year regarding the snapback mechanism and said a meeting among representatives of the three countries will be held in Tehran on July 22.

He said it will be "a meeting at the level of general managers, focusing on discussions on nuclear issues, which naturally will also include the return of sanctions."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a recent letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN Security Council Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, European Union high representative and members of the UN Security Council, ruled out the legal or moral authority of the European troika to trigger snapback sanctions against the country.

He outlined how the three European countries and original signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) lack any "legal, political or moral standing" to invoke the mechanisms of the JCPOA and UN Resolution 2231 (2015).

Araghchi said the E3 have relinquished their role as "participants" in the JCPOA through their actions and statements, including political and material support for the recent Israel's unprovoked and illegal aggression against Iran, rejection of the main pillars of the 2015 nuclear deal, and failure to uphold their commitments.

All that, the Iranian foreign minister stated, renders any attempt to trigger the snapback mechanism "null and void."