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China blasts US for banning firms allegedly linked to Iran

Friday, 19 July 2019 4:36 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 19 July 2019 6:12 PM ]

This file photo shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) shaking hands with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, after a joint press conference in Beijing, China, on December 5, 2016. (By AFP)

China has slammed the United States’ recent move to impose sanctions on Chinese firms over the allegation that they are linked to the Iranian nuclear energy program.

“We urge the US to immediately correct this wrong practice and earnestly respect the legitimate rights and interests of all parties,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a Friday press briefing.

Geng made the comments a day after the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Iranian, Belgian, and Chinese companies for allegedly serving as “procurement network” for Iran’s nuclear energy program.

PressTV-New US sanctions target Iran nuclear program

The US has imposed sanctions on some companies and individuals it said were involved in the procurement of materials for Iran’s nuclear program.

Geng said Washington’s campaign of “extreme pressure” against Tehran through sanctions and the policy of “long-arm jurisdiction” was the “root cause” of heightening tensions between the US and Iran.

The US, which has withdrawn from an international pact with Iran, has been imposing unilateral sanctions both on Tehran and third countries that do business with it since the withdrawal in May 2018.

The European Union, practically a party to that deal, and Russia and China — two other signatories — have condemned the US practice of attempting to apply its domestic jurisdiction outside of its territory.

Speaking earlier this week, US Senator Lindsey Graham said the European countries that continue to trade with Iran and refuse to join America’s pressure campaign against Tehran should be sanctioned “to the ground.”

Meanwhile, the European countries have been making efforts to fully operationalize a trade vehicle that secures their transactions with Iran against US sabotage in a global economy dominated by the US dollar.

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