Source: DTN News / Press TV
(NSI News Source Info) DUBAI - February 21, 2010: A delegation of Israeli officials will visit China later this month reportedly to drive a wedge between Beijing and Tehran, persuading the southeastern Asian country to support a new round of sanctions against Iran. 
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks past a. picture of Joseph Trumpeldor upon his arrival for a special. cabinet meeting in Tel Hai near the northern Israeli town of. Kiryat Shmona February 21, 2010. The meeting was held at the site that has become a landmark of Jewish resistance, to.commemorate last century's Jewish fighters led by Trumpeldor, who defended it from from Arab attackers on March 1, 1920. Headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon, the delegation will meet senior Chinese officials to discuss Iran's nuclear program and the Israeli campaign for fresh sanctions on the country, Ha'aretz reported on Monday.
China, one of the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, has taken a stand against Washington's push for 'paralyzing' sanctions on Iran.
This has become an obstacle on the way of Western plans to force Iranians into giving up their enrichment program, to which Tehran says it is entitled as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The planned visit comes as a surprise since the political wheeling and dealing of Tel Aviv officials does not normally involve China. 
Mohammad Nahavandian, head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, speaks during an interview with Reuters in his office in Tehran February 20, 2010. Western-backed sanctions on Iran to crimp its disputed nuclear activities will not have the desired impact as the country increasingly turns to Asian and regional countries, Nahavandian said.
Mohammad Nahavandian, head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, speaks during an interview with Reuters in his office in Tehran February 20, 2010. Western-backed sanctions on Iran to crimp its disputed nuclear activities will not have the desired impact as the country increasingly turns to Asian and regional countries, Nahavandian said. Neither Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu nor Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have visited China or held significant talks with Chinese officials on important issues.
This comes as the UN nuclear watchdog released a new report on Tehran's enrichment program, criticizing Iran for a range of issues, but verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country at the same time.
The report, which struck a harsher tone compared with the previous ones, has won plaudit from Israel, which reportedly possesses an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads and yet accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons
Iran, however, says it "neither believes in atomic bombs nor is it seeking to develop such weapons."
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