New York (AsiaNews/Agenzie) – The US intelligence report, for which Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, poses a problem about the need for new sanctions against Teheran. China claims: “now things have changed”, said the ambassador of Beijing to the United Nations, Wang Guangya.
Yesterday, despite the report by the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), conducted by different American intelligence agencies, President Bush said he “continues to believe that Iran is a threat”. The United States and its European allies are pressing for new United Nations sanctions, however, China remains reluctant. The text of a draft resolution should be presented by the end of the week.
The comments made by China’s ambassador follows an Iranian request for a diplomatic intervention by Beijing, which supplies them with large amounts of oil. Yesterday, the spokesperson for the Iranian government, Gholam Hussein Elham, referring to a telephone conversation between the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of the State, spoke about how China’s role as a “friendly nation” could function as a way “to transmit a sense of truth about Iran and convince the Americans of a realistic approach”.
The Foreign Ministers of France and Britain have said pressure should be maintained on Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium - a process which can have both civilian and military purposes.
