On Wednesday, in order to counter what they see as “expansionist policies” of Washington, Iran and China reaffirmed their commitment to bolster their military and defense cooperation.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed to bolster cooperation with China, terming relations between them as “strategic”, in a meeting with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.
Raisi stated that “confronting unilateralism” and paving the road for “stability and order” was possible through “cooperation of independent and like-minded powers,” in a dig at the US.
Early on Tuesday, Wei arrived in Tehran for a visit deemed significant for Iran-China relations.
In recent years, both countries have developed close ties, the highlight of which has been a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2021, which covers a wide gamut of areas.
Meanwhile, their relations with the US have been marked by hostility and tensions.
While calling the implementation of the long-term comprehensive cooperation agreement a “priority”, Raisi told the Chinese Defense Minister that Iran’s policy was to expand long-term strategic relations with Beijing “regardless of international developments and based on mutual political trust.”
For his part, Wei noted that stronger ties between Iran and China would provide security, “particularly in the current critical and tense situation,” saying unilateralism “prevents sustainable economic growth.”
During a meeting earlier in the day, where they discussed ways to boost military and defense cooperation between the two sides, Wei held wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.
