Iran Foreign Ministry Provides Explanation on 25-Year Deal with China

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi on Wednesday released a statement in response to a barrage of false claims raised in the virtual space about the roadmap to 25-year cooperation between Iran and China.

“According to a 2016 agreement between the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People’s Republic of China, stipulated in the Article VI of the communiqué during the honorable Chinese president’s visit to Tehran, the two countries have explicitly expressed their political determination to promote and deepen the relations strategically and decided to devise a comprehensive 25-year roadmap between the two countries to become the basis for the coherent and all-out expansion of the political and economic relations between Iran and China in the years to come,” he said.

“The preliminary draft of the document has been prepared with the participation of specialized institutions from the two countries and is currently undergoing the negotiation stage. Naturally, after finalization of the negotiations, the document will be submitted to the representatives of people in the Parliament for legal procedures.” 

Mousavi also pointed to the “hostile and nervous” reaction from the US Department of State’s spokesperson, adding, “Undoubtedly, the strategic relations between Iran and China that entail mutual key interests for the people of the two countries have enemies who will make every effort for the failure of these negotiations and lack of success of the document.”

He further dismissed as ridiculous the claims about a lease on the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf, a monopoly on the sale of oil at low prices, or deployment of armed forces, saying such claims do not even merit a denial.

“Fulfillment of Iran’s national interests has been the only guiding principle for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in devising the strategic document, and the negotiations have been held with utmost carefulness and meticulousness, and the people of Iran will soon observe its results, God willing.”  

The spokesperson also expressed hope that the cooperation document would be finalized in the near future, stressing, “Naturally, no other text would be valid before the finalization of negotiations. Therefore, the media are urged to refrain from republishing the texts that are prepared and disseminated with various purposes and objectives.”

In remarks on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said everything about a 25-year cooperation agreement with China is clear and the two countries have nothing to hide about it.

He also noted that Tehran will make the contents of the agreement public.