Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Wednesday that China has always been against unilateral sanctions against Iran and opposes the latest ones.

On Monday, the US, Britain and Canada announced additional sanctions intended to isolate Iran’s economy. But countries such as China and Russia have far greater economic investments in Iran.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report suggests Iran is working to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

Liu said sanctions won’t solve the Iranian issue and that countries should strengthen dialogue and cooperation.
 

The Netherlands, meanwhile, wants to extend the scope of European Union sanctions against Iran to include measures against its central bank to stop certain types of money flows, the Dutch foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Uri Rosenthal said Iran’s cash and gold transactions that bypass existing sanctions should be stopped, key government officials should be put on a sanctions list and new sanctions for Iran’s oil and gas sector should be considered.

The European Union agreed in principle on Tuesday to sanction some 200 Iranian people, companies and organizations, adding to measures imposed by the United States, Britain and Canada due to suspicions that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran dismissed the latest raft of sanctions, saying such steps would only intensify Iranian popular support for a nuclear program it insists is solely for peaceful purposes.

“The minister is very worried about Iran’s role in the region. In addition, the IAEA is very worried the country is engaging in operations which are needed to make an atomic bomb,” Rosenthal’s ministry said in a statement.

“The (European Union) council of ministers should take on Dec. 1 the decision to take these sanctions which should hit the Iranian government in the heart,” the ministry said.