Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday evening where he said designation of the terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq as ‘Islamic State’ would amount to insulting the Muslim world.
Early in the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted historical relations between Iran and China as two ancient civilized nations who enjoyed trade and cultural exchanges throughout the history; “Iran’s government and nation have always welcomed extensive relations with independent and reliable countries as China; and based on this premise, the recent agreement which secures 25 years of strategic relations between two countries is justified,” the Leader told Mr. Jinping, turning to Silk Road and the importance of reviving the ancient trade route as contributing positively to the trade through the route and among countries the route crossed; “the Islamic Republic of Iran will never forget Chinese support during when sanctions hit Iran’s economy,” added the Leader.
“Energy is a crucial issue of the contemporary world; Iran is the only country in the region to be relied upon in terms of energy security, since no non-national influence would affect the country’s policies in energy, unlike other countries in the region,” Ayatollah Khamenei asserted.
He pointed to an orientation to the east naturally embedded in Iranian culture and mindset; “western countries had systematically failed to win trust of the Iranians,” the Leader said. On the issue of One China policy, he reiterated Iran’s ‘highly principled’ policy of supporting the One China thesis which was in line with Jinping’s remarks on security cooperation between Iran and China.
Leader then turned to ‘western misguided policies and a blurred view of Islam [they promoted] which was at the same time inaccurate;’ “this view has plunged the region in internecine wars and sectarian violence which is highly contagious and should be addressed and stopped through collective measures and a wise avoidance of the extremes,” Ayatollah Khamenei told the meeting.
He attributed the ‘deviated ideology’ on some countries in the Middle East; “western countries have gone on a wrong track in mounting pressure on Muslim communities in the EU and US while they should address the roots of the perversion; they should come to understanding that terrorism has nothing to do with true Islam,” said the Leader, denouncing the so-called US-led coalition of fighting terrorism on their insistence in calling terrorist extremists ‘Islamic State’ as insulting the Muslims sentiments; “they indirectly aided establishment of the terrorist groups with systematically failing to provide a remedy instead,” he emphasized.
Ayatollah Khamenei believed ‘anti-terror coalition’ was a deception and hypocrisy; “the US would take similar positions in all similar issues and has never been honest in addressing pressing issues,” he objected.
Xi Jinping, for his part, expressed his gratitude for ‘amicable’ feelings of Iranian government and people, and believed that such cordiality had roots in years of friendly and long-standing ties between two countries; “China-Iran bilateral ties based on mutual interests should be improved; Iran and China had been connected via Silk Road which has been the symbol of peace, development and friendly trade; countries where the Silk Road crosses could provide best examples of protecting regional economic interests vis-à-vis the example advocated by the US,” he proposed.
“Some powers seek monopoly over power and resources and would promote ‘with us or against us’ policy; with the rise of new and emergent economies, they have failed to secure this monopoly and other ‘independent states’ have now better atmosphere upon which they would act with new ideas and policies,” Chinese president asserted.
On Iran’s nuclear issue, Jinping believed that his country's support for Iran and Iran’s support for One China policy provided examples of mutual respect and trust and also of ‘independent policies;’ “we are moving on the road to development and will remain with Iran in times post-JCPOA as we did during sanctions, and will promote relations in all fields of interest,” he ensured the Leader of his country’s support; on Iran’s relative advantages in terms of human resources, energy, and geography, Mr. Jinping said Iran’s economy would complement Chinese economy; “we reached a strategic cooperation MoU for the next 25 years when we will work to extend ties in education, culture, technology, military, and intelligence as strategic partners,” he concluded.
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