PARIS (New York Times) — Reflecting a growing catalog of disputes between Washington and Beijing, a senior Chinese official said Thursday that pressure for tighter sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program could block chances of a diplomatic settlement on the issue.

The official, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, was speaking in Paris less than a week after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked China over its opposition to stronger measures against Tehran, saying Beijing’s position was shortsighted.
In recent days, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has been reported to be reiterating support for a deal under which Iran would allow its low-enriched nuclear fuel to be exported for processing into nuclear fuel rods.
“Iran has to be measured by its actions, not by what it says,” Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle of Germany said Wednesday.
The issue also arose during a visit to Paris by Mr. Yang, who was quoted on Thursday as telling reporters, “To talk about sanctions at the moment will complicate the situation and might stand in the way of finding a diplomatic solution.”
His remarks, quoted by Reuters, seemed a direct rebuff of efforts by the United States to secure broad support for tougher penalties against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
“China firmly supports the international nuclear nonproliferation regime,” Mr. Yang said. “All countries, Iran included if they obey IAEA rules, have a right to a peaceful use of nuclear energy.” The IAEA — the International Atomic Energy Agency — is the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, based in Vienna.
The latest Iranian moves in the nuclear dispute have puzzled some of the Western countries — the United States, Britain, France and Germany — that with China and Russia form a group of countries seeking to end the standoff.
“I am perplexed and even a little pessimistic,” the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said Wednesday, referring to Mr. Ahmadinejad’s reported offer to meet the demand for low-enriched uranium to be exported for processing.
News reports quoted the Iranian leader as saying on Tuesday: “There is really no problem. Some made a fuss for nothing. There is no problem.” But while Western experts say it would take a year to complete enrichment, Mr. Ahmadinejad said it would take “four or five months.”