Iran nuclear issue at a critical juncture: China Daily editorial

With the Iranian nuclear issue facing new opportunities and challenges, it is good to see the international community making renewed efforts to bring the Iranian nuclear deal back onto the right track by urging the United States to rejoin the multilateral agreement as early as possible.

Ever since the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, the other parties to the deal have been striving to keep the agreement from falling apart.

However, such efforts have been constantly impeded by the current US administration's hostile stance toward Teheran. Even after withdrawing from the deal, the US has continued to exert extreme pressure on Iran through enhancing military presence in the Gulf region and brandishing the stick of sanctions.

This year, the US has even demanded the UN Security Council invoke a snapback mechanism and reinstate international sanctions on Iran. Its overbearing stance was rejected by the overwhelming majority of UN Security Council members who adopted a fair and objective stance. With the Iran nuclear issue now at a crossroad, the world needs more than ever to commit to multilateralism in handling disputes and differences.

On Tuesday, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, reiterated that the Iran deal, an important achievement of multilateral diplomacy endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, is legally binding and should be effectively implemented.

To maintain peace and stability in the Middle East and safeguard the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, he urged the US to rejoin the deal.

Indeed, as the incoming US administration under president-elect Joe Biden will take office in less than a month's time, the world has good reason to hope that the US will change course on the Iranian nuclear issue, as he has said he will rejoin the deal as long as Iran returns to compliance. The prospect of preserving the 2015 agreement now certainly looks brighter.

Since Biden has made it clear that the US has the willingness to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the Iran deal, the global community should join hands and seize the opportunity to convince Iran that it is in its best interest to work with the new US administration.

On Monday at a foreign ministers' video teleconference, the other parties to the deal, recognizing the prospect of the US rejoining, reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding the agreement and agreed to make joint efforts to ensure the US rejoins the nuclear agreement as soon as possible.

Since the US is likely to mend its ways, Teheran, too, has a responsibility to fully comply with the terms of the deal. Until then, all parties should maintain calm and exercise restraint so as to cultivate a good atmosphere for the desirable outcome.