TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has dismissed reports that Tehran and Beijing have halted talks over a 25-year partnership pending the U.S. presidential polls.

Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday that Iran and China are still engaged in talks on the details of the partnership, adding that the results of the talks would be made public soon, Tasnim reported.

Such untrue claims are raised by the hostile media outlets, he said of the rumors.

“The talks between the Islamic Republic of Iran and China about the 25-year deal are going on seriously, and have nothing to do with the elections of any country, especially the United States of America,” he added.

Iran and China are negotiating over the 25-year partnership that, if finalized, would raise the cooperation between Tehran and Beijing to an unprecedented level, especially in the oil and gas sector. According to the plan’s details that have been leaked to the press so far, China will invest a whopping $400 billion in various Iranian sectors including oil and gas. In exchange, Iran will ensure steady energy supplies to China for a period of 25 years at a discounted rate.

A draft of the plan was approved by the government of Hassan Rouhani in June. Since then, Zarif intensified talks with the Chinese side to finalize the partnership as soon as possible.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited the southern Chinese province of Yunnan last month. He traveled to China at the invitation of Wang. Zarif held talks with his Chinese counterpart.

Following the talks, the chief Iranian diplomat said he held “fruitful” talks with Wang Yi.

“Fruitful talks in beautiful Tengchong with my friend Wang Yi on Iran-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Zarif said in a tweet, adding that Iran and China “rejected U.S. unilateralism and U.S. attempts to create unipolar world.”

Zarif also said that they agreed on strengthening the bilateral ties including the partnership, preserving a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and moving forward with collaboration on the Covid-19 vaccine and regional cooperation.

Wang and Zarif also reiterated their commitment to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, reimposing sweeping economic sanctions on Iran. All remaining parties to the JCPOA, including China, have strongly opposed the U.S. sanction while underlining the need to preserve the nuclear deal.

MH/PA