China Friday reiterated its call for negotiations between the US and Iran to end the conflict, after the US Treasury secretary announced what they called the “toughest sanctions in history” against Tehran, Anadolu reports.
“China always believes military actions, sanctioning, pressuring do not help solve the problem, it only builds up the tensions in the current situation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.
He said such actions do “not fit interests of any party.”
“We urge the relevant party to solve the current dispute through negotiations and dialogue,” Lin responded when asked about fresh US sanctions on Iran, which Tehran dubbed “economic terrorism.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Thursday said Washington will impose the “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran as part of what he called the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
READ: Iran: New US sanctions are ‘economic terrorism, crime against humanity’
He told CNBC that the US “will put its full might and force toward” those nations found transferring money, buying oil, or doing seaborne ship transport with Iran.
Washington would tell countries they are “either with us or against us,” said Bessent.
However, Lin said China — the world’s second-largest economy and one of the largest importers of Iranian oil — “opposes any illegal, unilateral sanctions without authorization of the UN.”
“China hopes all sides take responsibility to solve the current issues through political settlement,’ he added.
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