China: Washington’s Illegal UN Bid Against Tehran Won’t Succeed

The United States’ illegal attempt at the United Nations Security Council to reinstate all international sanctions on Iran will not succeed as it has met extensive opposition, a senior Chinese diplomat said.
Speaking in a recent regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying recalled that the US has reneged on its international legal obligations, unilaterally walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal, reinstated illegal unilateral sanctions against Iran and spared no effort in obstructing other parties' implementation of the deal.
“This is the root cause of the tensions in the Iranian nuclear situation,” she said, according to the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 
The US left the nuclear accord, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, two years ago and initiated a maximum pressure campaign in the hope of forcing Iranian leaders to renegotiate a new deal. Most recently, it moved to prevent the expiration of the United Nations arms embargo on Iran in October based on JCPOA, but its resolution failed to win enough votes at the UN Security Council. 
Washington is, therefore, planning to use a so-called “snapback” process foreseen in the deal now to return all UN sanctions against Iran, but the UNSC members, including the remaining parties to the agreement, have objected to the bid, arguing that the US is no longer a participant and not entitled to resort to JCPOA mechanisms.  
“The US wants to hijack the Security Council to take illegal actions against Iran,” Hua said. 
JCPOA members, Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and the European Union, recently convened under the deal’s Joint Commission against the backdrop of US destructive efforts.
All attendants of the meeting, according to Hua, stressed that when the US unilaterally announced its withdrawal from JCPOA, it forfeited its right as a participant state and with that, the right to call for a snapback of sanctions.
“The meeting sends out an unequivocal message of upholding the JCPOA and the authority of the Security Council,” she said. 
At the commission meeting, Beijing reiterated its position that all parties should remain committed to resolving differences through dialogue and consultation within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission, but also suggested setting up a second platform of negotiation.  
“China supports the establishment of an alternative multilateral dialogue platform on the premise of firmly safeguarding the efficacy and authority of the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear issue, where all parties can forge new consensus on maintaining regional peace and stability,” Hua said. 
The spokeswoman also highlighted China’s determination to work with other parties to firmly uphold multilateralism while making relentless efforts to advance the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.