Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has traveled to China — his first international trip following the recent 12-day confrontation with Israel, which for a brief moment brought the United States to the brink of a new regional conflict.
Nasirzadeh is among nine defense ministers attending a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — a regional security bloc led by China and Russia, which has gained growing significance as Beijing and Moscow work to build alternative global alliances to those led by the U.S.
The two-day SCO meeting kicked off Wednesday in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, just one day after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which ended days of aerial strikes. The de-escalation followed a U.S. airstrike on three Iranian nuclear facilities, temporarily halting further military escalation.
The timing of the SCO gathering coincided with a NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague, where U.S. President Donald Trump announced that talks between the U.S. and Iran would take place “next week” to discuss a potential new nuclear agreement.
China is set to assume the rotating chairmanship of the SCO, and the meeting underscored Beijing’s growing role on the global stage, even though it remained largely on the sidelines during the Israel-Iran conflict. For Iran, however, the event highlights the strategic importance it places on its deepening ties with China, both diplomatically and economically.
