Chinese ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua on Wednesday said Beijing considers ties with Iran “strategic” and “decisively” supports and respects Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“China decisively supports Iran against foreign intervention and for preserving its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity,” the ambassador said on Wednesday during an event in southeastern Iran.
He made the remarks at the inauguration ceremony of the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran's Hormozgan Province.
China sees ties with Iran from a strategic point of view, he said, reaffirming Beijing’s determination to expand its strategic partnership with Iran based on agreements between leaders of the two countries as well as the 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement between China and Iran.
China deputy premier to Raeisi: Beijing always respects Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity
The remarks came days after a joint statement by China and states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Friday made controversial claims about three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.
The statement affirmed support for efforts, including the initiative and endeavors of the United Arab Emirates, to reach a "peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands through bilateral negotiations in accordance with the rule of international law and to resolve this issue in accordance with international legitimacy".
The strategically-positioned islands of Abu Musa, the Lesser Tunb, and the Greater Tunb have always been part of Iran, the proof of which can be corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world.
Tehran has on numerous occasions categorically rejected claims made by other Persian Gulf countries to the three Iranian islands, saying that they definitely belong to Iran and will remain sovereign Iranian territories forever.
Reacting to the statement, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday noted that Iran would never compromise with any country on the importance of respecting its territorial integrity.
"The islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf are inseparable parts of the pure land of Iran and belong to this motherland forever," he said during the Tehran Dialogue Forum.
On Monday, the minister said that Beijing had corrected “an error” made in the joint statement.
Minister: Iran, China finalize MoUs to implement 25-year deal
The GCC-China statement has been used as a tool by anti-Iranian media to downplay strategic relations between Iran and China.
The two countries signed a landmark 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in March 2021 in defiance of the US unilateral sanctions.
The deal officially documents the Sino-Iranian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that was announced during a visit by Xi to Tehran in 2016. It sets the outlines of their cooperation in political, cultural, security, defense, regional, and international domains for the next 25 years.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/12/21/694910/China-supports-Iran-territorial-integrity-envoy-says
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
