Russia, China to continue dealing with Iran despite US pressures – officials

Tabnak – While the United States has geared for applying more pressures on Iran by increasing the economic sanctions, two world great powers, Russia and China, vow to continue their economic interactions with the Islamic Republic. The move could deal a blow to Washington’s plot to isolate Tehran.

In this vein, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would continue its cooperation and relations with Tehran.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is in line with the international community's "common interest", the top Chinese diplomat said in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Xinhua reported late on Friday.

"We have openly indicated that we oppose the wrong practices of unilateral sanctions and 'long-arm jurisdiction' in international relations," Wang Yi added.

Wang’s position comes as the United States says it is prepared to impose sanctions on all countries that continue to buy Iran's oil -- including China -- after Washington starts restoring bans on the Islamic Republic’s energy sector.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Brian Hook, the head of US State Department's newly-established Iran Action Group, after he was asked by reporters about the group’s plan for dealing with China, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“The United States certainly hopes for full compliance by all nations in terms of not risking the threat of US secondary sanctions if they continue with those transactions,” he said. “We are prepared to impose secondary sanctions on other governments that continue this sort of trade with Iran,” Hook noted.

In the same vein, the Russian Foreign Ministry says it’s determined to take all necessary measures to preserve and implement the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"Russia continues to consistently implement its commitments under the JCPOA... We reiterate our decisive commitment to take all the necessary measures to preserve and fully implement the JCPOA," a ministry statement said on Friday, RT reported.

It said that Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation is implementing a series of projects designed to ensure compliance with the requirements of the JCPOA.

Russia is preparing to return a second batch of high-enriched uranium to Iran, the ministry said, stressing that Moscow would assist Tehran in managing the surplus low-enriched uranium and carry out cooperation with the country in specific areas for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

All such cooperation is being carried out strictly in accordance with the JCPOA terms and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 under full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the ministry said.

On May 8, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany). Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.