Countdown Iran » China

Times Online (UK): China Blocks Talks on Tackling Iran Nuclear Threat

C.I. — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:08:07 +0000

JAN. 18 – “A key meeting aimed at tackling Iran’s suspected nuclear arms programme has ended in failure after a low-level Chinese delegate blocked a new round of sanctions against the Islamic republic,” reports James Bone.

AP: Six-Nation Iran Parley Being Planned

C.I. — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:00:43 +0000

JAN. 11 – The Associated Press is reporting that the United States and five other countries are likely to meet this week to discuss what to do about Iran’s nuclear program.

AP: Taiwan Firm, On Request from China, Shipped Part With Nuke Uses to Iran

C.I. — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:02:29 +0000

JAN. 9 – The Associated Press is reporting that a Taiwanese company acceded to a request from a China-based firm to procure sensitive components with nuclear uses, then shipped them to Iran.

Chinese Envoy Objects to Additional Iran Penalties

C.I. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:33:29 +0000

JAN. 6 - Zhang Yesui, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said in a press conference Tuesday that his country opposed tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

“Sanctions themselves are not an end,” he said. According to a report in today’s New York Times, the Chinese buy about 15 percent of their oil from Iran.

“State-run companies like the China National Petroleum Corporation have signed billions of dollars’ worth of deals to help Iran develop oil and gas fields and to expand its refining capacity,” according to the Times.

See also today’s report in the Washington Post.

On Jan. 4, the Wall Street Journal, highlighting a recent report by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, described how Chinese firms have been evading U.S. sanctions imposed because of proliferation to Iran.

Required Reading: How China Evades U.S. Sanctions

C.I. — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:06:27 +0000

JAN. 4 – Today’s Wall Street Journal, highlighting a recent report by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, describes how Chinese firms have been evading U.S. sanctions imposed because of proliferation to Iran.

Israel Ambassador Hints at Iran Regime Change

C.I. — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:26:11 +0000

JAN. 2 – Israel’s NRG news web site reports that Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon is hinting that the West may act to topple the Iranian regime.

“The world is uniting against Iran,” Ayalon said at a Saturday event in Tel Aviv. “In a month we will see sanctions against her. I am not sure the regime in Iran will be the same a year from now. There is an agreement between Washington, Beijing and Moscow that a nuclear Iran would destroy the current world order.”