China urges all sides to ease tensions over Iran nuke program

China urged all sides yesterday to try to ease mounting tensions over Iran's nuclear plans and focus on negotiations, as Western powers ramp up pressure on Teheran to reveal the scope of its program.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China wanted positive results from talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany, to be held in Geneva tomorrow. The permanent Council members are the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.

An Iranian MP said yesterday that parliament may advocate Iran's withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if talks with major powers fail and the US keeps putting pressure on Teheran.

Western powers angered over Iran's belated disclosure of a second uranium enrichment plant say they will redouble efforts to slap harsher sanctions on Teheran if nuclear talks set for tomorrow in Geneva prove fruitless.

But the six-power unity key to mustering truly tough UN sanctions envisaged by the US, Britain, France and Germany remains elusive with Russia taking a wait-and-see stance and China again insisting on negotiations.

Jiang would not go into details of China's expectations of the Geneva meeting except to say Beijing hoped for "positive results." Jiang said the Chinese delegation will be headed by Cheng Jingye, director of the arms control department of the Foreign Ministry.

On Monday, Iran test-fired missiles, which a commander said could hit any regional target, adding to alarm in Western nations over revelations last week that the country was building a second uranium enrichment facility.

The US and European powers have called for greater force behind demands that Iran be transparent about its nuclear plans, and threatened Iran with "sanctions that bite".

China has also voiced concern about the enrichment plant, which has not yet come online, but has urged nations to solve the latest flare-up in tensions with Iran through negotiations.

US officials say Iran has notified the Swiss government that it can have access to three Americans who have been detained in Iran since being arrested for illegal entry in late July, perhaps a concilatory move by Teheran.

Iran's nuclear chief said yesterday his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain and next to a military site to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack. Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the site near the holy city of Qom is controlled by the elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force.

Reuters - AP - China Daily

(China Daily 09/30/2009 page12)