TEHRAN (IRNA) — The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, will visit China as part of his defence strategy and military diplomacy.

Mohammad Bagheri

The Bagheri agenda includes negotiations with the Chinese authorities, visits to industrial and scientific centres and conferences before the scientific and military elite of the Chinese National Defence University.

According to the Iranian official news agency IRNA, Iran and China have always sought to promote relations in various fields in a “rational and legal manner”, and the unilateral and severe sanctions imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran could not create obstacles to strengthening cooperation in the field of military defence.

One of the most important developments in bilateral cooperation between Iran and China was the signing of a military defence memorandum in 2016.

The establishment of the Iran-China Joint Military Commission is on the agenda for Bagheri’s next visit to China.

It is also expected that, in the near future, joint military drills by Iran, China and the Russian Federation would be conducted in the northern Indian Ocean.