In a highly symbolic move, the Iranian Council of Ministers recently approved the opening of a Chinese consulate at Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main trading port and the capital of the coastal province of Hormozgan. While Tehran currently has three consulates in China, this will be the first for Beijing in Iran.

This development is likely linked to the 25-year strategic pact Iran signed with China in March 2021. The agreement — which includes economic, military and security cooperation — brings Tehran into Beijing’s megaproject, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While the agreement was signed nearly a year ago, it started the “implementation stage” earlier this month.

Concluding detailed discussions with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, just a few days after the consulate was approved, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the implementation of the Sino-Iran long-term partnership has now begun, adding that the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas would boost bilateral trade relations.

Pointing out a flaw in this statement, Sina Toossi, a senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council in Washington, told Al-Monitor, “While Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian has said the much-hyped 25-year partnership agreement is entering its implementation phase, the agreement has yet to be approved by Iran’s parliament. Its successful implementation hedges on the Vienna negotiations succeeding, which China also wants to succeed and has its own concerns about the proliferation risk of Iran’s nuclear program.”