Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday said Tehran wanted to “expand its long-term strategic relations” with China.
The remark was made at a meeting with Beijing’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Tehran. Raisi told Fenghe that Tehran sees its ties with Beijing as strategic.
Closer cooperation would serve to confront what the Iranian president described as US “unilateralism” as talks to revive Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers have stalled, Associated Press reported.
Raisi stressed that “regional and global developments show more than ever the value of Iran-China strategic cooperation.”
“Confronting unilateralism and creating stability and order is possible through cooperation of independent and like-minded powers,” he added.
Raisi said Iran’s “priority” was the “successful implementation of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan” it signed with China in March 2021.
The deal includes “political, strategic and economic clauses,” according to Tehran.
Wei in turn said improving ties between Iran and China would provide security, “particularly in the current critical and tense situation.”
He said his visit was aimed at improving the bilateral strategic defense cooperation that would have a “remarkable” impact in defusing unilateralism and fighting terrorism.
