Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed: Chinese envoy

Photo taken on June 2, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

VIENNA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks after the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, chaired by European Union official Enrique Mora and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran.

Important progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations, but there are some key differences on issues related to the lifting of sanctions, Wang said.

The fact that the primary issue of sanction removal has not been settled in talks that have dragged on for more than two months shows that the issue of right and wrong has not yet been fundamentally resolved, he said.

It is the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted "maximum pressure" on Iran, which is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis, said the Chinese diplomat.

For the United States and Iran to resume full compliance with the JCPOA, illegal U.S. sanctions against Iran should be "fully, cleanly and completely" lifted in the first place, including "long-arm jurisdiction" against third-party entities and individuals, Wang noted.

All other sanction measures imposed by the United States during the withdrawal period that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council should also be completely lifted, he said.

At the same time, practical measures should be taken to prevent the relevant parties from arbitrarily withdrawing from the JCPOA again, Wang said. He added that China also supports the proper settlement of Iran's legitimate concerns in other areas.

"It is time to make a political decision on this," Wang noted.

The envoy stressed that China has always upheld an impartial position on the Iran nuclear issue and is willing to keep working with all parties involved to push forward the negotiations. He added that China will also continue safeguarding its own legitimate rights and interests in the lifting of sanctions and other aspects.

The U.S. administration under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response to the U.S. moves, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019.

The JCPOA Joint Commission began to meet in offline format on April 6 in Vienna to continue previous discussions in view of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and on how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA.