Beijing said Friday it has lodged an official protest with Washington over US sanctions against Chinese companies accused of being part of a supply network for Iran's nuclear programme.

"We urge the US to immediately correct this wrong practice and earnestly respect the legitimate rights and interests of all parties," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.

Geng said US "extreme pressure" on Tehran through sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" was the "root cause" of tensions in the Iranian nuclear standoff.

The US Treasury Department said Thursday that Iranian, Belgian and Chinese companies served as a procurement network for Iran's Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA), which produces enrichment centrifuges for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

The network was led by Iranian firm Bakhtar Raad Sepahan and its overseas affiliates. It included a Chinese firm, Henan Jiayuan Aluminum Industry Company, which was also sanctioned.

Other sanctioned entities are front companies based in China and Belgium, the Treasury said.

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UK to send third warship to Gulf
London (AFP) July 16, 2019
Britain will send a third Royal Navy warship to the Gulf, the defence ministry announced Tuesday, while insisting that it did not "reflect an escalation" of tensions with Iran in the region. Britain has already sent the HMS Duncan, an air defence destroyer, to cover for frigate HMS Montrose while it undergoes maintenance in nearby Bahrain, and will also send frigate HMS Kent "later this year". Reports said it would head to the Gulf in mid-September. HMS Montrose last week warned off three Ir ... read more