UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The "snapback" mechanism on UN sanctions against Iran shall not be deemed as invoked despite a purported U.S. notification to the Security Council, said a Chinese envoy on Tuesday.

The United States is no longer a participant of the Iran nuclear deal. Participants of the deal and the overwhelming majority of Security Council members believe that the U.S. demand for restoring UN sanctions on Iran has no legal ground and goes against common views, and the snapback mechanism shall not be deemed as invoked, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

China resolutely opposes the U.S. demand and holds the view that the U.S. letter submitted on Thursday should not be identified as "notification" specified in Security Council Resolution 2231, he told a Security Council meeting.

Under Resolution 2231, which endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, any participant state to the deal can notify the Security Council about an issue that it considers a significant violation of the agreement. The UN sanctions in place before the adoption of Resolution 2231 in July 2015 would then resume 30 days after the notification, unless the Security Council adopts a resolution to decide otherwise.

The United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, thus losing its status as a participant state to the agreement.

Zhang asked the president of the Security Council not to take any action on the U.S. demand. "The council should fully respect views of the international community and the overwhelming majority of council members, uphold its credibility and authority, and fulfill its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security."

China attaches great importance to the Iran nuclear issue. It is committed to upholding multilateralism, safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East, said Zhang. "We stand ready to work with other parties to push forward the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue."