VIENNA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A resolution on Iran passed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may lead to the termination of the landmark Iran nuclear deal and damage the global non-proliferation regime, a Chinese envoy said here on Friday.
The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors passed a resolution on Friday, calling on Iran to cooperate fully with it and let the agency access two locations.
The board "calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the agency and satisfy the agency's requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the agency," according to the text of the resolution submitted by France, Germany and Britain and adopted by a vote of 25 to two with seven abstentions, the IAEA said on its website.
Such a resolution may well be the basis for further actions in the Security Council and lead to the end of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, to the detriment of the entire global non-proliferation regime, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations in Vienna.
China cannot go along with any resolution tabled on a controversial basis, said Wang, emphasizing that the root causes of the escalating tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue lie in Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and its policy of maximum pressure against Iran.
He pointed out that preserving the JCPOA helps preserve multilateralism and the international non-proliferation regime.
The Chinese envoy called on all relevant parties to "position themselves on the right side of history by shouldering their historic responsibilities and by continuing their support to the constructive dialogue and cooperation between the IAEA and Iran so as to properly settle relevant safeguards' implementation issues."
"In no case can we afford to allow the Iranian nuclear issue to go back to the old road of confrontation," he added. Enditem
