Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that his country does not seek nuclear weapons.

"I hereby declare that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build nuclear weapons. This is our belief based on the edict issued by the Supreme Leader. Therefore, we never sought weapons of mass destruction, nor will we ever seek them," Pezeshkian told the General Debate of the General Assembly.

Pezeshkian said the attempts by the three European countries of Britain, France and Germany, which are parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran are illegitimate.

The three countries, known as the E3, claimed that they triggered the snapback mechanism provided for in the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), by notifying the Security Council of Tehran's "non-performance" on Aug. 28.

However, the legality of the E3 move has been questioned as it skipped the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) provided for in the JCPOA and UN Resolution 2231, which endorsed the deal.

Under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, the DRM has 35 days to resolve the disagreement. A snapback can be triggered only after the DRM fails to resolve the issue.

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Iran does not seek nuclear weapons: president

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar