Iran to hold talks with China over nuclear dispute

Tehran - Iran plans to hold talks with China over the Islamic state's controversial nuclear program, official news agency IRNA reported Wednesday.

Chief nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili is to go to Beijing Thursday to meet Chinese officials and discuss the latest developments in the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, the report said.

While the United States, Britain and France are in favor of imposing further sanctions against Iran, the other two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China and Russia - have been reluctant to back such measures.

US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he hoped the UN Security Council adopt tougher sanctions against Iran within "weeks" if the Islamic republic continued to refuse to comply with the council's resolutions on the matter.

Iran has several times said the sanctions are a futile effort by the world powers to stop the country's nuclear program, and hailed China - and Russia - for resisting the introduction of new sanctions.

Tehran has consistently rejected Western charges that it is secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons program, saying its atomic projects are solely for peaceful purposes.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316577,iran-to-hold-talks-with-china-over-nuclear-dispute.html.