Sanctions are not the way to resolve the deepening international confrontation over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, China said on Tuesday, while also urging Tehran to be more compromising.

China’s drive to invest in Iran’s biggest undeveloped oilfield in return for gas supplies is being stymied by tough commercial negotiations, not the threat of more sanctions, Chinese oil officials said on Tuesday.

.S. and Iraqi forces killed an estimated 15 al Qaeda gunmen during a fierce battle south of Baghdad after the militants launched a major attack on recently formed neighborhood patrols, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.