US seeks China's cooperation on Iran

As Iran and the world major powers plan to hold talks later in October, the United States calls on China to show more cooperation to curb Iran's nuclear program.

"If we are to make real progress on sending a consolidated message to Iran, we are going to need the support of China," US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday during a visit to China.

"We're going to need to see more cooperation and coordination between the United States and China if we are going to be effective in Iran," he added.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Russia, China, France, Britain and the US — plus Germany (P5+1) plan to meet at the end of October for a second round of talks.

Iran and the six countries held talks in Geneva on October 1 on the basis of Tehran's latest package of proposals presented to Western powers.

The seven-and-a-half hour Geneva meeting discussed Iran's points of view on a range of global issues and the country's concerns with specific Western policies and activities with six party members avoiding the call to insist on a halt to Iran's nuclear activities.

The sides also agreed to continue the talks through October.

Tehran has consistently denied Western allegations linking its peaceful nuclear activities to a secret nuclear weapons program and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.

China, as a member of the P5+1, has thus far opposed tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Washington, Tel Aviv and their European allies claim that Tehran has plans to build a nuclear weapon and say the use of military force is a legitimate option in retarding Iran's nuclear progress.

Iran argues that the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — to which it is a signatory — gives the country the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, adding that nuclear energy is essential for meeting its growing energy demand.

Iran's nuclear program is supported by most countries.