Iran’s Foreign Ministry said its 25-year cooperation agreement with China is progressing, and framed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a platform for the Global South, in a direct challenge to the United States.
“The 25-year agreement with China is under implementation and progressing. Our bilateral relations are very good and expanding. We value our relationship with China,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told China’s Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
He said Tehran expects President Masoud Pezeshkian’s China trip and appearance at the SCO leaders’ meeting in Tianjin to be “a milestone in developing bilateral relations.”
“Our bilateral relations are very good and growing,” he said, adding that the SCO “can represent the interests and concerns of the Global South” and help safeguard an international order “based on multilateralism [and] the rule of law.”
Pezeshkian told the summit on Monday that members must expand trade in national currencies and strengthen financial mechanisms to withstand sanctions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin also pressed their vision at the regional summit on Monday for a new global security and economic order that prioritizes the Global South.
Pezeshkian said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as one of the key pillars of the multi-polarization of the international system, must take concrete, clear, and transparent steps along two parallel paths: creating a more peaceful world and a world better prepared for the expansion of economic cooperation."
Iran faces sanctions from the United States and several Western countries over its nuclear activities, human rights record, and ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine. These measures have contributed to Tehran’s economic isolation and increased its reliance on partners such as China, its largest oil customer.
On the nuclear dispute, Baghaei criticized Britain, France and Germany over their recent move to trigger the UN “snapback” mechanism, saying it violated their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
He said Iran would defend its interests and remains entitled to its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty rights.
In separate comments carried by Iranian media last week, Baghaei accused the three European powers of “bowing to Washington.”
Late last month, Britain, France and Germany triggered a 30-day process—the so-called “snapback” mechanism—to restore the international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program in a formal letter sent to the UN Security Council.
Strains on the 25-year pact
The long-term agreement, signed in 2021, envisions Chinese investment in Iran’s energy and infrastructure sectors in exchange for long-term energy supply commitments.
But implementation has lagged under sanctions, with Chinese investments limited and the exact terms kept secret. Projects such as the South Pars gas field and the Gohardasht Steel complex have faced setbacks, with some Chinese firms retracting or terminating their participation.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged the full enforcement of the pact on Sunday, calling it a foundation for reshaping regional and global dynamics.
“Iran and China, as ancient civilizations on Asia’s eastern and western wings, not only possess profound historical foundations but also hold transformative power to reshape regional and even global landscapes. Fully implementing all aspects of the two countries’ strategic cooperation agreement will undoubtedly lay a solid foundation for this process,” his office said in a post on X.
