Implementation of Iran Nuclear Deal Preserves UN Credibility - Beijing

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, will preserve the credibility of the United Nations, as well as ensure peace and stability in the Middle East, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"By implementing the JCPOA on Iran nuclear issue we are preserving the credibility of the United Nations and the UN Security Council, the importance of international agreements, multilateralism, basic principles of international law, non-proliferation regime, as well as peace and stability in the Middle East," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press briefing.

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Geng's statement comes after a meeting of the JCPOA participants on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this week.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of countries — China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The deal stipulated the gradual easing of sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump announced in early May that the United States would pull out from the deal and restore wide-ranging sanctions on Iran.