The top lawmakers of China and Iran reiterated that the Middle East is “not a battleground for the big powers” and should not become a geopolitical competition with countries outside the region.
The joint statement comes at a time when Russian intelligence agency SVR on Saturday said that the United States and the United Kingdom were planning terrorist attacks on Russian bases in Syria.
Reacting to this development, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi emphasised that “the international community should respect the sovereignty, security, stability, unity, and territorial integrity of Middle East countries,” according to a readout from Beijing’s foreign ministry.
Aragchi is on his first official state visit to China since becoming Iran's foreign minister post-regime change.
Additionally, “both sides agree that there is a need to end the war in Gaza, followed by proper implementation of a ceasefire in Lebanon, and the integrated promotion of counter-terrorism, reconciliation, and humanitarian processes in Syria,” the joint statement read.
The statement also said that the Middle East belongs to the people of the Middle East and is not a battleground for the big powers to settle tactical and strategic victories against each other," adding that the region should not be a victim of geopolitical competition and conflicts between countries from outside the region,” the ministry said.
China and Iran were both supporters of ousted Syrian president Basher Al-Assad. Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is an ardent opponent of Tehran.
Since the recent takeover of Syria by HTS supported by Turkey, Chinese economic interests, Iran's aspirations of becoming a regional power, and Russian strategic interests have been immensely affected by a coup.
The US, NATO, and its regional ally Israel supported this aggressive takeover by the HTS on December 8.
Apart from discussing the regional developments, China and Iran also held negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
In a recent press briefing, the US State Department reiterated that Iran has fastened its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, and chances are that they have already refined enough uranium to build two to three nuclear bombs.
In any case, Iran's ambitions could completely change the dynamics of the Middle East, as it could potentially start a nuclear arms race where more and more countries will look to build nukes as part of their deterrence against one another.
At present, only Israel possesses the nuclear capability in the region, which according to geopolitical experts has given it absolute impunity in its military conduct in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
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