China Calls on US to Drop Iran-Related Sanctions

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States should stop the practice of unilateral sanctions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday, commenting on the new US sanctions against a number of companies for exporting oil from Iran.

On Thursday, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions against one vessel and 10 entities from China, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates for violating Iran-related sanctions.

"The US side needs to abandon the wrong practice of resorting to sanctions at every turn and do more things that are conducive to negotiations on resuming compliance with the JCPOA," the spokeswoman said during a briefing.

Mao Ning also said that China has always been strongly opposed to unlawful and unjustified unilateral sanctions, adding that the normal and legitimate cooperation between Iran and other countries, including China, does no harm to third parties and should be respected.

Iran has been under Western sanctions for years, primarily because of its nuclear program, with the sides negotiating a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna with no tangible results.