Iran Parliament Speaker Meets Chinese Delegation at Leader's Funeral

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, met a senior delegation from China's National People's Congress in Tehran on Friday. Both sides offered condolences on the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was martyred in the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attack. The Chinese delegation arrived in the Iranian capital to attend the funeral rites of the late Leader.

During the meeting, the two sides stressed their shared will to continue and deepen bilateral ties, strengthen parliamentary relations, and hold closer consultations on regional and international issues. China has been a key diplomatic partner for Iran throughout the conflict, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemning the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as "illegal" and Beijing playing a behind-the-scenes role in the Pakistan-mediated peace talks.

The two countries are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, and maintain close economic ties, with China remaining Iran's largest oil customer. No further details of the talks were immediately released. According to Mehr News, the meeting took place on the sidelines of the funeral ceremonies.