China: Dialogue needed for Iran nuclear concerns

Beijing on Wednesday urged for dialogue to address the "legitimate concerns," of all parties involved in the Iranian nuclear issue, following a trilateral meeting hosted by Tehran with Chinese and Russian officials to discuss its nuclear program.

"China has always been saying that we should use diplomatic and political means for the assessment of the Iranian nuclear issues, and we have been maintaining communications with all parties," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference in Beijing.

His comments came in response to a question about Tuesday's trilateral talks in Tehran between Iran, Russia, and China on Iran's nuclear program.

The meeting precedes a new round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the E3 -- the UK, France, and Germany -- set to take place on Friday in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

"We welcome using constructive roles to resume dialogue and negotiation to reach the solution that can accommodate the legitimate concerns of all parties," Guo added.

Separately, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that US and Israeli efforts to terminate Tehran's nuclear program are futile, calling the idea of ending it "an illusion" and vowing to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of international law.

"We categorically reject possessing nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera. "This is our political, religious, human, and strategic position," noting that any "future negotiations must be based on a win-win logic."

Talks between Iran and the US were being held through Omani mediators until Israel's surprise attack on Iran on June 13, which triggered a 12-day war, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israeli military and intelligence facilities.

Iran accused the US of complicity in the attack, which killed top Iranian military officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians. The US also launched strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, claiming to have obliterated them.

A US-brokered ceasefire between the two countries was announced on June 23.