US prodding China over Iran sanctions

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161032.html


Washington is putting more pressure on Beijing in an attempt to enforce unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and the European Union.

"They [Chinese officials] did not agree to either European, American… sanctions that were imposed unilaterally [on Iran]," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with ABC television on Wednesday.

The top US diplomat also expressed her country's dissatisfaction with China over failing to comply fully with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

"We think that there are some entities within China that we have brought to the attention of the Chinese leadership that are still not as, shall we say, as in compliance as we would like them to be," she went on to say.

"And we are pushing very hard on that and we may be proposing more unilateral sanctions," Clinton pointed out.

She made the remarks as Chinese President Hu Jintao is in the United States to hold talks with US President Barack Obama and other top American officials.

On Tuesday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad downplayed the sanctions and said the Islamic Republic is making progress on its nuclear energy and the Western states are only issuing resolutions.

He was referring to US-sponsored resolutions adopted by the UNSC as well as unilateral measures adopted by the US and the EU with the aim of hindering Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of following a military nuclear program, but the Islamic Republic has repeatedly refuted the baseless charges.

Under Western pressure, the UNSC imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran's financial and military sectors in June.

Tehran argues that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy.

Meanwhile, former head of the IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday that Western countries are "hyping" concerns over Iran's nuclear program.