Ali Rabiei: China Doesn’t Want Cooperation Document Published; Islamic Republic Seeking Similar Agreement with Russia

As public opposition to the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China has intensified, the spokesperson for Hassan Rouhani’s government claimed that “a propaganda campaign” has begun, and this time presented a new narrative as the reason for keeping the document’s text hidden.

Ali Rabiei, spokesperson for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s government, said on Tuesday, April 10: “The Iranian government has had no problem from the beginning with the full publication of this document, and the other party apparently was reluctant to publish it due to certain considerations of its own.”

China’s unwillingness to publish this cooperation document comes at a time when Reza Zabeih, director general of East Asian affairs at the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry, had previously stated that there is no legal obligation for publishing such cooperation documents and it is not customary either.

In response to widespread protests against this cooperation agreement, the government spokesperson claimed that “the subject of criticism has gone beyond those concerned with the country’s independence” and added: “Some of these people who have a history of submission to foreigners have been the initiators of this atmosphere-building and lying. It is completely clear that these individuals, not out of sympathy or patriotism, but because of their opposition to the independence-seeking nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have launched a propaganda campaign against Iran and organized baseless analyses.”

He also announced the forthcoming long-term similar agreements: “Until now, we have also taken measures with some neighboring countries in this regard, and we have previously announced our readiness to all countries in the region for major agreements.”

It appears that Mr. Rabiei’s reference is to a similar agreement with Russia; because one day earlier, the chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced that the Islamic Republic is pursuing the signing of “long-term and strategic documents” for the purpose of “neutralizing foreign sanctions.”

China and Iran’s foreign ministers signed the 25-year cooperation agreement between the two allies on Saturday in a ceremony that was directly broadcast by the state television. A document whose officials from both countries refrain from presenting details of, and its critics compare to the Turkomanchain treaty during the Qajar era.

On Sunday, April 8, the President of the United States in a brief response to the cooperation between the Islamic Republic and China, described it as concerning.

The signing of this agreement sparked widespread reactions on social media, and a group of Iranian citizens in various cities across Iran attended spontaneous gatherings and expressed their opposition to the signing of this document.