US should stop shilly-shallying by moving decisively to sanction-lifting: Chinese envoy

VIENNA - The United States should stop shilly-shallying by moving decisively to complete and thorough sanction-lifting, a Chinese envoy said Saturday as a new round of talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), started.

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks after the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, chaired by European Union (EU) official Enrique Mora and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran.

The talks have entered the 11th week and are in the final stages, but negotiations over sanction-lifting and related issues have been dragging on and yet to be resolved, Wang said.

"Iran's concerns about this issue are legitimate and reasonable," Wang said, noting that in order to resume full compliance with the JCPOA, the United States should first lift its unilateral sanctions against Iran, including "long-arm jurisdiction" against third-party entities and individuals.

The U.S. conventional arms embargo on Iran, which is inconsistent with the JCPOA and relevant resolutions of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, should also be completely removed, said the Chinese diplomat.

The United States lifted some sanctions on Thursday, but it looks somewhat like they were "shilly-shallying," Wang said. Now that the United States has made the political decision to return to the JCPOA, all relevant sanctions should be lifted "in a complete, clean and thorough manner," he added.