Tehran: Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who recently emerged as a chief negotiator in talks with the United States, has been appointed to oversee relations with China, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has recently been appointed as a special representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran for China affairs, Tasnim news agency reported, citing informed sources, with other media carrying similar reports.
Ghalibaf was appointed to the position at the proposal of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and with the approval of supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Tasnim. He will coordinate various sectors of relations between Iran and China, it added.
Fars news agency said late security chief Ali Larijani, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on March 17, held a similar position. Larijani oversaw the advancing of negotiations with China which led to a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021.
Following the outbreak of the war on February 28 with Israel and the United States, Ghalibaf has emerged as a central figure steering high-stakes diplomacy in the single round of talks with the US in April. A number of senior Iranian officials, including former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, were killed in the war, which spread across the Middle East before a fragile ceasefire took hold on April 8.
Iran has in recent days allowed a number of Chinese ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit which it had blocked since the war erupted. The Revolutionary Guards said the ships transited after an agreement on Iran’s strait management protocols.
The appointment underscores the deepening strategic partnership between Iran and China, which has been a cornerstone of Tehran’s foreign policy amid ongoing regional tensions. Ghalibaf’s role is expected to further strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the two nations, particularly in the wake of the 25-year cooperation deal.
Analysts suggest that Ghalibaf’s experience as a top negotiator with the US positions him uniquely to handle complex bilateral issues with Beijing. His appointment comes at a critical time as the region recovers from a devastating conflict that reshaped alliances and highlighted Iran’s reliance on China for economic support.
For more on Iran-China relations, see Wikipedia: Iran–China relations. For details on the 25-year agreement, visit Reuters: Iran and China sign 25-year cooperation agreement. For background on the recent conflict, see Al Jazeera: Ceasefire takes hold in Middle East.
Source: ARY News