China to Increase Iran Oil Imports in Event of Congress Rejection: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The possible rejection of the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the US Congress will give leeway to energy-hungry Beijing to increase Iranian oil imports, a report said.
If Congress scuppers the nuclear accord, China will conclude that diplomacy has not worked out and as a result it will increase Iranian oil imports.
“China, one of six world powers that negotiated with Tehran, has reduced the amount of Iranian oil it buys, as demanded by a US sanctions law meant to pressure Iran to accept a diplomatic resolution of the nuclear stand-off. If Congress scuttles the July 14 nuclear agreement, energy-hungry Beijing is likely to conclude diplomacy has failed, break free of sanctions restraints and increase Iranian oil imports, the officials said,” Reuters reported on Friday.
According to the report, Obama administration will face with numerous predicaments in the event of a rejection and that China is only one of them.
“That would be a big, big, big blow to the United States in the world. It would also be bad for the whole Middle East, bad for Israel,” former European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who helped launch the first nuclear talks with Iran in 2004, told Reuters.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
The 159-page deal has its own opponents and proponents both in Iran and the other countries that are parties to the JCPOA, particularly the US.
While the United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution to endorse the deal, the text of the document needs to be ratified by both Iran's Parliament and the US Congress.
