Iran's foreign minister nominee vows to prioritize Russia, China ties

Staff Writer

Aug 18, 2024

bbas Araghchi, political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, speaks to the media after the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) attended by the E3+2 (China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom) and Iran on July 28, 2019 at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images) — Abbas Araghchi, political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, speaks to the media after the meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on July 28, 2019 at the Palais Coburg in Vienna, Austria. — ALEX HALADA / AFP via Getty Images

In a speech before members of parliament on Sunday, Iran's prospective next top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said he would prioritize Tehran's ties with China, Russia "and other countries that sided with us" against US economic sanctions.

Araghchi, whose nomination by President Mahmoud Pezeshkian was advanced by the parliament's foreign policy committee this week, vowed to continue his predecessor's focus on warming ties with Beijing and Moscow. Former hardline President Ebrahim Raisi deprioritized relations with the West before he was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

"China, Russia, countries that helped Iran in difficult times, newly emerged powers, new opportunities in Africa, Latin America and East Asia will be the foreign policy priority of the Pezeshkian administration," he said.

Araghchi previously served as Iran's deputy foreign minister during the 2015 nuclear accords with the West, Russia and China, and has come under fire from some in parliament for his support for a return to that deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.