New York, Feb 18 (DPA) China, one of the veto-wielding UN Security Council permanent members, does not believe Iran has short-term capability to make nuclear weapons, the International Crisis Group said in a study released Wednesday.
China is also opposed to imposing additional sanctions against Iran, which some Western governments believe are necessary to counter Iran’s advanced programme to produce weapon-grade uranium.
“Beijing is unconvinced that Iran has the ability to develop nuclear weapons in the short term and does not share the West’s sense of urgency about the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, despite the risks that this would present to China’s long-term interests,” the Crisis Group said.
Iran last year revealed that it had built new nuclear facilities near the city of Qom and last week its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared Iran a nuclear state for attaining an advanced uranium enrichment scheme.
The new development has prompted talks that the council’s five permanent members and Germany would consider additional sanctions against Iran. The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – the veto powers in the 15-nation council – had imposed sanctions in the past three years, which failed to convince Iran to abandon its
nuclear ambitions.
China has called on Iran to abide by its Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) commitments to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.
“China has vested interests in a good relationship with Iran,” the Crisis Group said, referring to China’s huge investment in Iran’s energy resources to sustain its high economic growth. But the Iran-China’s relationship goes also beyond energy investment.
“China sees Iran’s influence in the Middle East and Central Asia as useful to advancing its political, economic and strategic agenda in that region,” the group said. “The two countries also share important historical and political affinities, shaped by suspicion towards the West and reinforced by an experience of sanctions and a
perception of US interference in their domestic politics.”
But the group warned that China still values its ties with the United States more than those with Iran. If sanctions were to be imposed by the council, China would negotiate to weaken the terms of the sanctions against Iran in order to protect its economic
interests with Iran, the group said.
