Beijing, December 7 (RHC)-- China has called on the United States to stop its so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran and making threats of deploying additional troops to the Middle East, saying Washington should find a diplomatic solution to reduce tensions in the region.

"The United States is not only unilaterally withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the JCPOA -- the nuclear deal signed between Iran and major world powers in 2015] and exerting maximum pressure on Iran, but is also imposing sanctions or threatening to impose sanctions on other parties within the agreement," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

"The U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and its maximum pressure campaign against Iran is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis," she emphasized.  The Chinese spokeswoman expressed hope that all parties to the JCPOA will continue to work for the "full and effective" implementation of the accord and restore the balance of rights and obligations.

However, she called on the parties to exercise restraint, and work to resolve differences by stepping up negotiations and refrain from steps that could further complicate the situation.  She noted that Beijing would continue to work with all sides to "facilitate a political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue."

The Chinese official added that the U.S. should "correct its erroneous policy" of exerting pressure on Iran, leave room for diplomatic efforts by other parties and create conditions to mitigate the situation in the region.  She warned that Washington's decisions, including its withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, were only serving to complicate the situation in the region.  "We continue to believe that dialogue and negotiations are the only correct way to resolve Iran's nuclear issue," Hua said.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the international deal, in defiance of global criticism, and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

In response to the move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the sanctions.