United Nations, Sept. 11 -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called for the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy.

Repeated hostilities in the Middle East have caused serious harm and losses to the peoples of countries in the region, including Iran, while the spillover effects continue to expand, undermining the common interests of the international community, said Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

The parties concerned should renounce the use or threat of force, resume implementation of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding as soon as possible, and bring the Iranian nuclear issue back onto the track of a political and diplomatic solution, he said at a UN Security Counci...