China minister heads to Iran for nuclear talks

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BEIJING, Nov 12 (Reuters): Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will go to Iran for talks on Tehran's nuclear dispute, officials said on Monday, underscoring the growing pressure on Beijing to help end the standoff. Yang would visit on Tuesday for meetings with senior officials, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters. As Iran contends with Western powers over Tehran's nuclear activities, China has found itself caught between the two sides' rival expectations.
The West accuses Iran of seeking the ability to make nuclear weapons but Tehran says its atomic program is purely for the civilian purpose of generating electricity.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week his country's nuclear program was irreversible, showing continued defiance in the face of possible new U.N. sanctions
Yang would visit on Tuesday for meetings with senior officials, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters.
As Iran contends with Western powers over Tehran's nuclear activities, China has found itself caught between the two sides' rival expectations.
The West accuses Iran of seeking the ability to make nuclear weapons but Tehran says its atomic program is purely for the civilian purpose of generating electricity.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week his country's nuclear program was irreversible, showing continued defiance in the face of possible new U.N. sanctions.