China has slammed the United States for its “unilateral bullying” of Iran, and for being a catalyst in the nuclear crisis after Tehran announced plans to breach a uranium enrichment limit set in 2015.

“The maximum pressure exerted by the US on Iran is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis,” Geng Shuang, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

READ MORE: Iran exceeds uranium enrichment level set by nuclear deal as Europe fails to resist US sanctions

He likened Washington’s reintroduced sanctions to “bullying” and said they’ve become a “worsening tumor” for the global community. While expressing regret at Iran’s decision, the spokesman reiterated that the current discord over the country’s nuclear program should be resolved diplomatically.

The facts show that unilateral bullying has already become a worsening tumor.

Earlier, Iranian officials had already used the term “bullying” while commenting on Washington’s stance on sanctions. Last week, head of Iran’s parliament Ali Larijani said any US threats would have an opposite effect to what’s expected on the Iranian nation.

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On Monday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the country’s nuclear agency, said that Iran’s new level of uranium enrichment was at 4.5 percent, and that Tehran would consider increasing it to 20 percent, taking further steps away from the 2015 JCPOA deal. The accord set the uranium enrichment limit at 3.67 percent. Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief and the ability to export oil. However, the sanctions only multiplied when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the deal last year. Since then, Iran has been urging European signatories to the JCPOA to act on the matter and salvage the Iranian economy.

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