Iran's top nuclear negotiator warned the West to stop "threatening" Tehran as US President Barack Obama urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to cooperate in blocking Iran's atomic ambitions. The harsh words from Saeed Jalili came as Western calls mount for tough new punitive action against Iran over its suspect nuclear programme - action that hinges on the approval of China, which wields a UN Security Council veto.
Beijing has until now refused to back Western calls for new sanctions, and earlier in the day again urged all parties to hold more talks and "show flexibility" in resolving the international stand-off over Iran's atomic drive. In a phone call with Hu, Obama called for better Sino-US co-operation to ensure "that Iran lives up to its international obligations," the White House said. Jalili suggested, however, that Beijing was heeding Tehran's calls for help.
"Many issues came up in our talks on which China accepted Iran's position," Jalili told reporters after talks with Chinese officials including Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and State Councillor Dai Bingguo. "We jointly emphasised during our talks that these sanctions tools have lost their effectiveness," Jalili said, though he said reporters "must ask China their position".
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. The envoy said the West should change their "erroneous methods" and stop "threatening" Iran, warning that talks with six world powers including China and the United States could collapse if the West does not back off. "If they continue with simultaneous talks and pressure, these negotiations cannot succeed," Jalili said.
"China as a large country can play an important role in changing these wrong methods." Beijing has a close diplomatic and trade relationship with Iran, dominated by its imports of Iranian energy resources - a point emphasised by Jalili, who said: "We believe China and Iran's friendly relations will continue."