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China warned over Iran position

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick warned Chinese leaders Wednesday that allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons could threaten Beijing`s crucial supplies of Middle Eastern oil. China has failed to support a U.S.-backed proposal to take the dispute over Iran`s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council.

Some suspect that Beijing wants to avoid a conflict with Iran, a major oil source for its economy. Zoellick warned Premier Wen Jiabao and other officials in meetings Tuesday that if they were concerned about energy security, it would be "extremely dangerous" to allow nuclear weapons development in the Middle East.

China and Russia have seemed to support in recent weeks referral of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Security Council at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency set to take place on Feb. 2. But then both nations, which are considered nominally allied with Iran, seemed to change their minds or to give into Iranian bullying. There are a few days left before the meeting of the IAEA takes place, so there is still much that can happen before then.