Iran, China sign agreement to boost defense-military cooperation

Iran and China have signed an agreement to boost defense-military cooperation and fight terrorism.

The agreement was inked by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan and his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan in Tehran on Monday at the end of an earlier meeting between the two sides.

“The development of [Iran’s] long-term defense-military relations and cooperation with China is among the top priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defense diplomacy,” Dehqan said in the meeting.

He added that the two countries’ defense-military cooperation would guarantee regional and international peace and security.

He emphasized that all countries in Asia and the Oceania shoulder the responsibility to maintain peace and stability.

“Today, foreign meddling and lack of respect for the national sovereignty of countries have turned the Middle East region into a hotbed of crisis and insecurity in the world and led to [the emergence of] terrorism and its spread throughout the world,” Dehqan said.

He added that the US and some regional countries are supporting terrorism and the scourge is overflowing into Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus as well as other regions.

“Today, the threat of Daesh and terrorism has turned into an important regional and international challenge,” the Iranian defense minister said.

He called for a genuine and efficient campaign against terrorism by all countries which are exposed to the threat of the malicious phenomenon.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, with the great experience that it has acquired over the recent years in the anti-terror campaign, expresses its readiness to make a collective move in order to fight this threat and believes that China can play a very important role in this regard,” Dehqan said.

For his part, the Chinese defense minister said Iran has an important position in the region in political, economic, security, military and cultural fields.

He added that the two countries have common interests in many regional and global issues which have prepared the ground for the expansion of defense-military cooperation.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Chang arrived in Tehran on Sunday for an official three-day visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart.

He plans to hold talks with senior Iranian officials about Tehran-Beijing cooperation and the latest regional and international developments.

Dehqan had traveled to China in May 2014 to negotiate mutual visits and personnel training cooperation between the two countries.

Back in April 2015, the Iranian and Chinese defense ministers, who were in the Russian capital to attend the fourth Moscow International Security Conference, held a meeting and discussed Tehran-Beijing relations as well as the issue of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists and the extent of their activities in East Asia.

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