Hours after Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani said the new agreement between Tehran and Beijing constituted an “effective resistance” against Washington, a close associate of President Hassan Rouhani responded by saying that China was “pursuing pragmatic interests.”
“China is pursuing pragmatic interests and not effective resistance or strategic confrontation with others, especially with the West,” Hamid Abutalebi, who was also Rouhani’s advisor, was quoted by IRNA news agency as saying.
In remarks earlier this week, Shamkhani responded to a statement by US President Joe Biden, in which he expressed concern over the new Chinese-Iranian partnership.
“Biden’s concern is entirely correct, as the flourishing of strategic cooperation in the East speeds up America’s decline,” he said on Twitter.
Meanwhile in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the document signed by the Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers would provide a general framework for future cooperation.
“The plan focuses on tapping the potentials in economic and cultural cooperation and charting course for long-term cooperation. It neither includes any quantitative, specific contracts and goals nor targets any third party, and will provide a general framework for China-Iran cooperation going forward,” Lijian emphasized.
The signing of the joint agreement on Saturday came three days after a US-European understanding regarding the need to wait for an Iranian proposal to revive the nuclear agreement. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had announced his country’s intention to present a plan of action in this regard.
Biden’s administration said it was ready for dialogue with Iran regarding the resumption of the two countries’ commitment to the agreement, according to which the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran would be lifted in exchange for restrictions aimed at preventing the regime in Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
