China supports Iran in defending security

BEIJING: China supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security and national dignity”, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Iran’s acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday, according to a statement by China’s foreign ministry.
In the phone call, Wang repeated Beijing’s denunciation of the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike had violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister, that the killing of Haniyeh had “directly undermined the Gaza ceasefire negotiation process and undermined regional peace and stability,” China’s foreign ministry said.
“China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with the law, and in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability, and stands ready to maintain close com­munication with Iran,” Wang was quoted as saying.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday nominated Abbas Araqchi as the country’s foreign minister. Araqchi had been Iran’s chief negotiator in nuclear talks from 2013 to 2021.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024