China to host Iranian foreign minister amid US pressure over nuclear talks

Name: Iran vows revenge if US fails to put former president Trump on trial for Soleimani killing
Uploaded: 2022-01-10T15:00:19.000Z
Duration: 3 min 56 s
Description: Iran vows revenge if US fails to put former president Trump on trial for Soleimani killing

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian set to visit straight after Beijing receives delegations from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain

Arab states have argued that a nuclear deal should contain more wide-ranging restrictions on Iran

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, pictured during a video call with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, is to visit Beijing. Photo: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Laura Zhou

Published: 11:00pm, 10 Jan 2022Updated: 11:49pm, 10 Jan 2022

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is to visit China later this week, local media reported, as pressure grows to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal.

Amir-Abdollahian’s trip, reported by Iran Press news agency, will be the first to China by a member of the Iranian cabinet since Ebrahim Raisi became president in August.

Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that the 25-year agreement on economic and security cooperation, signed with China last March, would be high on the agenda.

The visit was announced as Iran’s main Sunni rivals in the region also sent delegations to China. The Sunni-ruled Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have a fierce rivalry with Shia Iran and are cautious about attempts by US President Joe Biden’s administration to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

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Iran vows revenge if US fails to put former president Trump on trial for Soleimani killing

Leaders in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states believe that any deal with Iran should go beyond nuclear issues and also cover its missile programmes and activities, which they say destabilise the region.