China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it opposes unilateral sanctions against Iran,days after several Western countries announced new measures against Tehran to halt its nuclear program. The United States, Britain and Canada announced new measures against Iran's energy and financial sectors on Monday and France proposed "unprecedented" new sanctions, including freezing the assets of its central bank and suspending purchases of its oil.

Iran needs to invest as much as $50 billion a year in its oil industry to maintain its position as OPEC s second-largest crude exporter and boost natural gas production, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said. Qasemi's comments today published in the state-run Fars news agency came two days after the U.S. and its allies expanded sanctions against Iran in an effort to thwart the country's controversial nuclear program.