Iran ambassador welcomes China's continued participation in nuclear deal

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran ambassador to China Ali Asghar Khaji said Thursday in an interview with Xinhua that China's continued presence and participation would "reduce our worries on all sides on the possibilities of lacking implementation."

"If China is there, we can be more confident of the implementation of the deal." Khaji said.

Iran and six major states, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany, on Tuesday clinched a historic nuclear deal, putting an end to decades of standoff between Iran and the West and paving the way for lifting Western sanctions.

Khaji thanked China for playing "a prominent and constructive role" in reducing the distance between both sides and bringing the views closer to each other during the negotiations.

Citing the Arak heavy water reactor as an example, Khaji said China's proposal was a big help in solving existing problems.

Western states wanted Iran to modify the Arak heavy water reactor to a light one to address the concern of a technical path to a nuclear bomb, while Iran could not accept that demand.

To resolve the issue, China proposed to reduce the output of plutonium by technical means while keeping Iran's heavy water reactor, which won approval from both sides.

Khaji commended the achievement of the nuclear deal and said that the lifting of sanctions would not only boost Iran's economic development, but also open up new prospects for Iran-China cooperation.

As countries of ancient civilizations, China and Iran enjoy traditional friendship and complementary economic ties.

There is huge potential for the two countries to expand cooperation in such fields as energy, investment, technology and science, Khaji said, adding that the lifting of sanctions would facilitate actualization of these potentials.