As the United States and Iran entered an armed standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to China on 5 (local time), Iran’s Foreign Ministry said.
Yonhap News Agency reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on its Telegram channel that Araghchi would visit Beijing.
The ministry said Araghchi plans to exchange views with China’s foreign minister on ways to develop bilateral relations and on rapidly changing regional and international developments.
China’s Foreign Ministry also said in an afternoon statement on 5 that Araghchi, responding to an invitation, is scheduled to visit China on 6.
A spokesperson said Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China’s foreign minister, will meet with Araghchi.
Araghchi and Wang spoke by phone on April 15 to discuss the war situation and other issues.
At the time, Wang said that as a coastal state on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights and interests should be respected and protected, while freedom and safety of navigation through the international waterway must also be ensured. He said efforts to restore normal passage through the strait were “the unified voice” of the international community.
Wang added that China supports maintaining momentum toward a ceasefire and negotiations.
Earlier, the U.S. military used force on the first day of what it called the “Liberation Project,” deploying Apache helicopters in the Strait of Hormuz and sinking Iranian fast boats that were threatening merchant ships, in an effort to ensure safe passage.
Iran also fired missiles and drones toward the United Arab Emirates, about a month after a ceasefire took effect on April 8, keeping the standoff going.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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