Iran’s defense minister has traveled to diplomatic and economic ally China on his first reported trip abroad since a 12-day clash with Israel that briefly dragged the US into a new regional conflict.
Aziz Nasirzadeh is one of nine defense ministers that Chinese state media say attended a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping that has grown in prominence as Beijing and Moscow look to build alternative international blocs to those backed by the United States.
The two-day gathering began Wednesday in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, a day after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel quelled what had been days of aerial assaults between the two, punctuated by a US strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities. The SCO gathering coincided with a meeting of NATO leaders at The Hague, where US President Donald Trump said the US would meet with Iran “next week” about a potential nuclear agreement.
Beijing’s gathering, part of events for its rotating SCO chairmanship, spotlighted China’s role as a key international player, even as it remained largely on the sidelines of the Israel-Iran conflict – and the importance Tehran places on its relationship with Beijing. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun did not directly address the conflict in remarks to gathering nations Wednesday, as reported by Chinese state media, but aimed to position China as a country with an alternative vision for global security.
“Unilateralism and protectionism are surging, while hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts severely undermine the international order, making these practices the biggest sources of chaos and harm,” Dong said, employing language typically used by Beijing to criticize the US. The Chinese defense chief called for SCO countries – which, in addition to China and Russia, include India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus – to enhance coordination and “defend international fairness and justice” and “uphold global strategic stability.”
Attending countries “expressed a strong willingness to consolidate and develop military collaboration,” according to China’s official news agency Xinhua. Iran’s Nasirzadeh “expressed gratitude to China for its understanding and support of Iran’s legitimate stance,” Xinhua also reported.
The minister “hopes that China will continue to uphold justice and play an even greater role in maintaining the current ceasefire and easing regional tensions,” he was quoted as saying.
Iran’s defense minister has traveled to diplomatic and economic ally China on his first reported trip abroad since a 12-day clash with Israel that briefly dragged the US into a new regional conflict.
Aziz Nasirzadeh is one of nine defense ministers that Chinese state media say attended a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a China- and Russia-led regional security grouping that has grown in prominence as Beijing and Moscow look to build alternative international blocs to those backed by the United States.
The two-day gathering began Wednesday in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, a day after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel quelled what had been days of aerial assaults between the two, punctuated by a US strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities. The SCO gathering coincided with a meeting of NATO leaders at The Hague, where US President Donald Trump said the US would meet with Iran “next week” about a potential nuclear agreement.
Beijing’s gathering, part of events for its rotating SCO chairmanship, spotlighted China’s role as a key international player, even as it remained largely on the sidelines of the Israel-Iran conflict – and the importance Tehran places on its relationship with Beijing.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun did not directly address the conflict in remarks to gathering nations Wednesday, as reported by Chinese state media, but aimed to position China as a country with an alternative vision for global security. “Unilateralism and protectionism are surging, while hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts severely undermine the international order, making these practices the biggest sources of chaos and harm,” Dong said, employing language typically used by Beijing to criticize the US.
The Chinese defense chief called for SCO countries – which, in addition to China and Russia, include India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus – to enhance coordination and “defend international fairness and justice” and “uphold global strategic stability.”Attending countries “expressed a strong willingness to consolidate and develop military collaboration,” according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.
Iran’s Nasirzadeh “expressed gratitude to China for its understanding and support of Iran’s legitimate stance,” Xinhua also reported. The minister “hopes that China will continue to uphold justice and play an even greater role in maintaining the current ceasefire and easing regional tensions,” he was quoted as saying.
Source: Here