China on Wednesday said it opposed unilateral and expanded sanctions against Iran days after several countries announced new measures against the Middle East country.

"China has always opposed unilateral sanctions against Iran and disapproved of those expanded sanctions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a daily press briefing.

The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday announced new sanctions against Iran, in the wake of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that expressed concern over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

China maintains that imposing pressure and sanctions will not fundamentally resolve the Iran issue, but complicate and aggravate it, and stir up more confrontations, which will undermine regional peace and stability, Liu said.

The spokesman urged relevant parties to increase dialogue and cooperation and properly settle the Iran issue through negotiations.