Parliament to Be Fully Informed of Iran-China Deal: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Parliament will by no means be kept in the dark about the country’s 25-year cooperation agreement with China.
In an interview with ICANA on Thursday, Zarif said when the negotiations between Tehran and Beijing about the cooperation agreement reach the final stage and if the deal entails legal commitments, it will be submitted to the Parliament for ratification.
He also noted that the Parliament will again work on the contract to check if it is in accordance with the law even if the agreement remains as an administrative bill.
“Therefore, this contract will never be hidden to the Parliament,” the foreign minister underlined.
The agreement is at the “negotiation” stage, Zarif added, noting that the Foreign Ministry has obtained the required permission from the government to engage in the relevant talks.
He also addressed rumors and allegations about Iran’s potential cession of Kish Island or other Persian Gulf islands to China as part of the agreement, saying, “These allegations are not true. There is not even a particle of truth to these allegations, which have been put forth.”
“We have not handed over a (single square) meter of (our) land to China or any other country, nor granted any foreign country the exclusive right to take advantage of a handspan of Iran’s soil, and will not do this (in the future),” Press TV quoted him as saying.
Last week, the Iranian president’s chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, dismissed as “illusions” some speculations about the 25-year cooperation agreement with China, saying the roadmap does not entail foreign control on Iranian islands or the presence of military forces by any means.
The media speculations about the deal are just “illusions and rumors” spread by certain parties who try to disrupt Iran’s relations with China, he stated.