Delegations from China, Russia and Iran meet in Beijing for talks on nuclear deal
The IAEA warned that Iran is rapidly enriching uranium to 60% purity, just below the 90% needed to make nuclear weapons.
China receives Iranian and Russian deputy foreign ministers
Diplomatic delegations from China, Russia and Iran met Friday in Beijing for talks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, Chinese state media said.
"The three sides exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues of common concern," CCTV television network said.
In this framework, the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, affirmed that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through "dialogue" and "negotiation," when receiving diplomats from Tehran and Moscow.
"Unilateral sanctions will only exacerbate conflicts; dialogue and negotiation are the only options," the minister told the invited diplomats in Beijing.
State media did not disclose further details of the meeting, which was attended by Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and his counterparts Sergey Riabkov of Russia and Kazem Gharibabadi of Iran.
Both Beijing and Moscow had been party to the 2015 agreement to place limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief against Tehran.
United Nations warns of Tehran's enriched uranium levels
France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain and the United States requested the session.
The West is expected to exert pressure on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by providing necessary information on potential undeclared nuclear materials.
The IAEA has warned that Iran is enriching uranium rapidly to 60% purity, just below the 90% needed to make nuclear weapons. Such high levels of enrichment have no civilian justification and are unprecedented among non-nuclear states.
"Following my latest report, Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% U-235 has increased to 275 kg, up from 182 kg last quarter. Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to have reached this level of enrichment, which is of serious concern to me," Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in statements carried by Anadolu Agency.
Under Donald Trump's first term, the United States withdrew from the agreement and reimposed sanctions, leading Iran to disengage from some of its commitments.
Attempts to restore the pact made since then have failed.
China said these talks were aimed at "strengthening communication and coordination to resume dialogue and negotiation in a short period of time."
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