Iran says that letter to China this week before a third round of conversations with the United States in their nuclear program, as Iranian officials accused Israel separately of trying to “undermine and interrupt the diplomatic process.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Beijing in Tesday to discuss the latest conversations with the administration of US President Donald Trump in the country’s nuclear program, spokesman Estmaeil Baqaei said on Monday.
The trip echoes “consultations” that Iran celebrated with Russia last week, before the second round of US-Iran’s direct conversations was a hero during the weekend. A third round of conversations between Araghchi and the American envoy Steve Witkoff takes place in Oman on Saturday.
Araghchi has previously said that Tehran always consults closely with his allies, Russia and China, about the nuclear problem.
“It is natural that we consult and letter to China about the last development in the indirect conversations of Iran-United States,” Baqaei said.
Russia and China, both powers of nuclear weapons, were signatory to have eaten the now disappeared agreement of 2015 between Iran, the United States and several Western countries aimed at calming the tensions around the Tehran nuclear program.
The 2015 Agreement, known as the Comprehensive Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), which Trump withdrew in 2018, saw Tehran reduce its nuclear program in exchange for relief of sanctions.
The United States and Israel have accused Iran of seeking to use the program to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has firmly denied the claim, saying that the program is for civil purposes.
On Monday, the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the close links between Beijing and Tehran, but did not confirm the planned visit of Minister Iran.
“China and Iran have maintained exchanges and contacts at all levels and in several fields. With respect to the specific visit, I have no information to offer at this time,” said Guo Jiakun, ministry spokesman.
Strengthened alliance
The Israel War in Gaza has seen Iran approach Russia and China. The recent diplomatic movements surrounding the United States-Iran conversations have further underlined strengthened ties.
Araghchi with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, last week, just before his second round of negotiations with Witkoff.
On Monday, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, signed a strategic association treaty of 20 years earlier this year with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud fishshkian.
Meanwhile, Iran’s already tense relations with Israel and its ally “Ironclad”, the United States, have been valid in the middle of the war. Since assuming the position, Trump has restored a campaign of “maximum pressure” sanctions against Tehran, while repeatedly threatens military action if a new nuclear agreement is not reached.
Speaking on Monday, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Baqaei, accused Israel of trying to interrupt the nascent negotiations to open the way for military action.
In the comments carried out by the AFP news agency, he declared that Israel is behind the efforts of a “type of coalition” to “undermine and interrupt the diplomatic process.”
“Next to him there are a series of tax currents in the United States and figures of different factions,” said the spokesman.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
His statement came a day after the New York Times reported that Trump had dissuaded Israel to hit Iran’s nuclear sites in the short term, saying that Washington wanted to prioritize diplomatic conversations.
‘The consultations must continue’
Baqaei added that “consultations should continue” with countries that were part of the JCPOA.
Iran gradually violated the terms of the treaty since Trump abandoned it, the broadest when enriching uranium at higher levels than those established in the agreement.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran has enriched uranium at 60 percent, close to the 90 percent level necessary to make weapons. The JCPOA had restricted it to 3.67 percent, the enrichment level necessary for civil power.
Speaking last week, Witkoff sent mixed messages about what level is Washington looking. Initially he said in an interview that Tehran needed to reduce his enrichment of uranium to the limit of 3.67 percent, but then clarified that the US will go to finish their enrichment program.