AP: Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he warned Chinese leaders that allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons could threaten Beijing’s crucial supplies of Middle Eastern oil. Associated Press
CHENGDU, China (AP) – Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he warned Chinese leaders that allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons could threaten Beijing’s crucial supplies of Middle Eastern oil.
China has refrained from supporting a U.S.-backed proposal to take the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council, prompting suggestions that Beijing wants to avoid angering Iran, a major oil source for its energy-hungry economy.
Zoellick said he warned Premier Wen Jiabao and other officials in meetings Tuesday that if they were concerned about energy security, it would be “extremely dangerous” to allow nuclear weapons development in the Middle East, center of the world oil industry.
“In their own interests for energy security, they need to steer this in another direction,” Zoellick told reporters during a stop in this southwestern Chinese city.
