Iran’s joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will not affect the outcome of the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, US Department of State spokesperson Jeff Rathke said during a press briefing on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — China is part of the P5+1 group together with the United States, France, Russia and the United Kingdom plus Germany, which is expected to reach a final comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran by June 30, 2015.“We do not expect that Iranian membership in the AIIB would have any effect on the international sanctions regime that’s in place on Iran,” Rathke said.

On Tuesday, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Tehran had been accepted into the AIIB, which has granted membership to at least 34 other countries.

Rathke reiterated that Iran’s affiliation with the AIIB would not pose a risk to destabilizing the final stretch of the talks.

“We don’t see such a risk, the P5+1 have remained united in our goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and we expect that to remain the case regardless of other outside events,” Rathke said.

Nearly 40 countries are prospective AIIB founding members, including the United Kingdom and France.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a multilateral development bank that aims to finance the development of infrastructure and other economic sectors in Asia, including energy and power, transportation and telecommunications, environmental protection, agriculture and water supply and sanitation, according to AIIB’s website.


By Sputnik News