Iran envoy says China agrees sanctions ineffective

Iran and China agreed during talks in Beijing that sanctions "have lost their effectiveness", chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Friday after meeting senior Chinese officials. "In our talks with China it was agreed that tools such as sanctions have lost their effectiveness," Jalili told a news conference.

Asked if China backs sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, he said: "It's up to China to answer that." The United States said this week that six world powers, including China and Russia, are united in talks on a possible new round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. (Reuters)