Thu Apr 27, 10:40 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China urged all sides involved in the dispute over
Iran's nuclear program to remain calm and show restraint, as it said the stand-off was at a crucial stage.
"We indeed think the Iranian nuclear issue is at a crucial stage," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular briefing.
"We hope all parties concerned can keep calm, exercise restraint and create favorable conditions so as to properly resolve this issue."
A day ahead of a deadline from the Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program, Qin
reiterated China's position that it hoped the issue could be resolved through dialogue.
"We maintain that this issue should be properly handled through diplomatic means and negotiations, which is in the interests of all parties concerned and is also conducive to international and regional peace and stability," Qin said.
"To achieve this goal, we hope relevant parties concerned can exercise restraint and create favorable conditions for the resumption of talks and not do things that will escalate the situation."
Tensions have escalated in recent days as the deadline has drawn closer, with Iran warning the United States on Wednesday it would be "harmed" across the globe if it attacked the Islamic republic over the issue.
"The Americans should know that if they launch an assault against Islamic Iran, their interests in every possible part of the world will be harmed," Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned.
"The Iranian nation will give a double response to any strike."
Iran has insisted it will ignore the UN's Friday deadline, and maintains its uranium enrichment work is to enable civilian nuclear reactors to generate electricity.
Western powers, led by the United States, are convinced Iran is seeking the capacity to make a nuclear weapon.
The United States is pushing for a UN Security Council resolution that would allow economic sanctions or even military action.
However China and Russia, which are also permanent members of the Security Council with veto-wielding powers, have consistently opposed any such resolution, insisting that negotiations can resolve the dispute.
Qin on Thursday refused to answer a question on under what circumstances China would be willing to use sanctions against Iran.
He advocated resolving the issue through the international community, including the Security Council and
the UN atomic watchdog, the
He advocated resolving the issue through the international community, including the Security Council and the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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