Iranian Foreign Minister Visits China To Shore Up Support For 2015 Atomic Deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is heading a high-profile delegation to China with a view to shoring up support for the 2015 nuclear deal and enhancing business ties with Beijing despite renewed American sanctions. Zarif reportedly is being accompanied by parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani; the Iranian ministers of finance and petroleum; and the CEO of the Iran’s central bank. China, along with Russia, Britain, France and Germany, remain committed to upholding the atomic accord from which the United States withdrew last May. The European parties to the agreement are in the process of devising a mechanism known as INSTEX to facilitate ongoing non-dollar trade with the Islamic Republic, in a bid to circumvent U.S. financial penalties. Tehran is an important source of oil imports to China, which has invested in manufacturing and other industries in the country.