The Chinese president Xi Jinping and its Iranian counterpart Ebraim Raisi they asked today to lift the sanctions against her Tehranconsidering this step necessary to resume talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which have reached an impasse.

Xi also accepted Raishi’s invitation to visit Iranwhich he will do when his schedule allows, as the two leaders said in their joint statement on the last day of the Iranian president’s three-day visit to China.

The two presidents called for the 2015 Iran deal to be implemented nuclear program, under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against it. But in 2018, the US under then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in 2021 that the U.S. would return to the deal if Iran again began complying with its terms, but talks have stalled.

“All relevant sanctions should be fully lifted, in a verifiable manner, in order to promote the full and effective implementation” of the agreement, Xi and Raisi said.

On Tuesday, Xi told Raishi that China would “constructively participate” in talks to resume negotiations aimed at implementing the deal, while expressing his support for safeguarding Iran’s rights and interests.

“China strongly opposes interference by foreign powers in Iran’s internal affairs and undermining its security and stability,” the two leaders said in their statement.