Iran foreign minister heads to China for first time since war
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is traveling to Beijing for talks, marking the diplomat's first visit to China since U.S. and Israeli strikes sparked the most severe global oil supply shock in history.
Araghchi is traveling on Tuesday and will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Telegram. Iran didn't reveal the duration of the visit, only saying he would discuss regional and international developments. China's Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit will take place on May 6, according to a separate statement.
The two diplomats have maintained close communication during the Iran war, having called each other at least three times. Beijing has reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire, while asking countries to respect one another's sovereignty.
Araghchi's visit to China comes as Donald Trump prepares to make the first trip to China of a U.S. president in nearly a decade next week. On Monday, the Republican leader said he was looking forward to meeting Xi Jinping, signaling his plans for the summit are still on.
The U.S. has been pressuring China along with other economies that rely on oil imports to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz - calls Beijing and U.S. allies have side-stepped. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also urged China to join an American operation to escort ships through the strait.
"Let's see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait," Bessent said on Fox News.
China buys almost all of Iran's oil exports, and its ability to straddle strong ties with Tehran, Gulf nations and Trump has positioned it as a potential mediator. Last month, after a ceasefire publicly brokered by Pakistan was announced, Iranian officials credited a last-minute push by China with securing their acceptance, an assertion validated by Trump. Chinese state media pushed back on those claims.
The nine-week conflict in the Middle East has choked off the flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving crude importers such as China working to prevent domestic shortages. U.S. efforts to ramp up pressure on Tehran to bring an end to the war have led to sanctions on refiners in China that process Iranian oil.
China has now ordered companies not to abide by U.S. sanctions on private refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade, an unprecedented act of defiance that will test the U.S. sanctions system.
China still hasn't confirmed dates of the Xi-Trump summit, as is customary in Beijing where details of Xi's schedule are closely held until days before an event.
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-With assistance from Foster Wong.
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