VIENNA (AP) — China, an opponent of harsh U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran, has nonetheless provided the International Atomic Energy Agency recently with intelligence linked to Tehran's alleged attempts to make nuclear arms, diplomats have told the Associated Press.
Beijing, along with Moscow, has acted as a brake within the council, consistently watering down a U.S.-led push to impose severe penalties on Tehran for its nuclear defiance since the first set of sanctions was passed in late 2006.
A Chinese decision to provide information for use in the agency's attempts to probe Iran's purported nuclear weapons program would appear to reflect growing international unease about how honest the Islamic republic has been in denying it ever tried to make such arms.
China's venture was revealed by two senior diplomats with good contacts to the International Atomic Energy Agency, with one commenting late last week and the other Wednesday. The IAEA declined comment.
