Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to China on May 5 local time as the United States and Iran faced off militarily over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on its Telegram channel that Araghchi would visit Beijing that day, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The ministry said Araghchi plans to meet China’s foreign minister to discuss ways to develop bilateral ties and to exchange views on rapidly shifting regional and international conditions.
Araghchi and Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and foreign minister, spoke by phone on April 15 to discuss the war situation, the ministry said.
Wang said Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights as a country on the Strait of Hormuz should be respected and protected, while freedom and safety of navigation through the international waterway must also be ensured. He added that efforts to restore normal passage through the strait reflect a unified voice of the international community.
Wang also said China supports maintaining momentum toward a ceasefire and negotiations.
The report said U.S. forces used force a day earlier, on the first day of what it called the “Liberation Project,” deploying Apache helicopters to sink Iranian fast boats that were threatening merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, in response, launched missiles and drones toward the United Arab Emirates, continuing a standoff about a month after a ceasefire took effect on April 8, the report said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.