China Urges Iran to Work with U.N. Atomic Agency

Iran should show "sincerity" and "engage in serious cooperation" with the U.N. atomic watchdog, China said Tuesday ahead of a key report detailing Tehran's suspected efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

The intelligence update by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to be released this week and diplomats say it will focus on Iran's alleged efforts to put fissile material in a warhead and develop missiles.

China and Russia -- key allies of the Islamic republic -- had been urging the UN atomic agency to soften or even not issue the eagerly awaited report, diplomats told Agence France Presse last month.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters on Tuesday that Tehran should "show flexibility and sincerity and engage in serious cooperation with the agency" while urging the IAEA to be "just and objective".

"China is against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and opposes the development of nuclear weapons by any country in the Middle East region," Hong told reporters.

"It is imperative to prevent new turbulence in the Middle East security situation."

Previous IAEA assessments have centered on Iran's efforts to produce fissile material -- uranium and plutonium -- which can be put to peaceful uses like power generation, or be used to make a nuclear bomb.

The intelligence update, expected to be circulated on Tuesday or Wednesday, will likely focus on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles for delivery.

Iran, which has been hit by four rounds of U.N. Security Council resolutions, says its nuclear activities are peaceful and in the past has dismissed such allegations as fabricated.