China on Monday said “unilateral bullying” by the United States was the cause behind the escalating Iran nuclear crisis.

“The facts show that unilateral bullying has already become a worsening tumor,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing in Beijing.

“The maximum pressure exerted by the US on Iran is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis,” he said.

Iran on Sunday declared the second step to reduce its commitments by ramping up the level of uranium enrichment to over 3.67 percent.

Geng said China has expressed “regret” for Tehran’s decision to reduce its fulfilment of the Iran nuclear deal.

Source: Agencies