Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Tianjin, where the two pledged to deepen ties through the full implementation of their 25-year strategic deal and vowed joint resistance to what they called US “unilateralism.”
Pezeshkian conveyed the greetings of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said Tehran was ready to boost relations with Beijing “to the maximum level.”
“China can count on Iran as a friendly and determined ally… Injustice, aggression, and unilateralism must be prevented," Pezeshkian said. "Iran seeks a world governed by law and equal relations among nations, not by force and coercion.”
Iran is ready to expand comprehensive relations and cooperation with China, Pezeshkian said, including the full implementation of the 25-year comprehensive agreement.
For his part, Xi reaffirmed that Iran was a “strategic partner,” saying China was committed to accelerating the implementation of agreements reached in previous meetings, according to Iran's readout of the call.
“China stands by justice and fairness and recognizes Iran’s legitimate right to peaceful nuclear use.”
Xi also condemned attacks on Iran as "violations of international norms."
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where Pezeshkian also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In an interview with China’s state broadcaster CCTV, Pezeshkian said Iran faced “double standards” from Western powers that violated the 2015 nuclear deal and then accused Tehran of non-compliance.
“The same countries that violated the JCPOA are now claiming that Iran is not fulfilling its commitments,” he said, referring to the nuclear agreement.
On security, Pezeshkian said Iran did not seek war but had shown it could defend itself. He pledged cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “within internationally accepted frameworks,” while criticizing what he called the agency’s lack of fairness.
Also, in a meeting with Iranian expats in China, Pezeshkian said “if Israel is rampaging today, it is because of the technologies provided to it by the United States and its other allies."
On Monday, Putin said Russia and Iran were in constant contact over international issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Separately, Iran’s foreign minister announced that Tehran, Moscow and Beijing had sent a joint letter to the UN Secretary-General and Security Council condemning European attempts to restore international sanctions on Iran.
