Iran’s foreign minister has praised his country’s relations with China during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing amid heightened tensions and efforts by Tehran to keep its world markets open following the US’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday met with Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi (王毅), whose country has been a major customer for Iranian oil, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
“We consider [China] one of our closest partners in the world,” Zarif said in opening remarks at the start of the meeting.
Photo: AFP
Iran wants to cooperate with China “bilaterally and multilaterally, in order to preserve the interests of our two peoples ... for peace and security,” Zarif said.
Wang told Zarif in the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be “fully implemented.”
“China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called ‘long-arm’ jurisdiction imposed by the United States on Iran,” Wang was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Wang pledged to maintain the nuclear deal and work with Iran to eliminate “complicated disturbing factors,” Xinhua said.
Along with ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic, Washington has been engaged in an increasingly bitter tariff battle with China.
The talks came after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind a drone attack that shut down a key oil pipeline in the kingdom.
A local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family on Thursday called for the US to launch “surgical strikes” on Tehran.
Zarif arrived in China following a visit to Japan — which, like China, is a major importer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf — as part of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers at the center of a crisis unfolding between Iran and the US, as well as keep markets open to Iranian exports amid the sanctions.
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