Iran’s top security official has hailed as “a strategic success” the beginning of implementation of the 25-year partnership agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China in defiance of US sanctions.
“The start of the launch of the 25-year agreement between Iran and China, the world’s second-largest economy, that comes as the US still seeks to deprive Iran of economic interaction with the world through unilateralism and the ongoing maximum pressure [campaign], is considered a strategic success for Tehran,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet on Monday.
Iran and China signed the landmark agreement in March last year in defiance of the US’s unilateral sanctions, in a move aimed at bolstering their long-standing economic and political alliance.
The deal officially documents the Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that had been announced during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to boost economic cooperation between the two countries for the next 25 years, and paves the way for Iran’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe.
Beijing has long sought to boost ties with Tehran, with President Xi describing Iran as “China’s major partner in the Middle East” on a rare visit to the country in 2016.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi signed final documents to announce the start of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries on Friday.
