Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to arrive in China on Tuesday for discussions with Chinese officials on the ongoing nuclear talks with the United States and on Iran-China relations.

What happened: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, announced the pre-planned visit at a press conference on Monday. “We will hold consultations with Chinese officials on the process of our indirect talks with the United States and will inform them of the latest developments in this regard,” he said, adding that the two nations will discuss their bilateral ties.  

Araghchi’s visit to Beijing follows weeks of close engagement between Iran, Russia and China on Iran’s nuclear program. In mid-March, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi — a key player in Iran’s nuclear negotiations — and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The talks revolved around the Iranian nuclear issue, and the three nations released a joint statement condemning “illegal unilateral sanctions” on Iran.  

Then, just last week, Araghchi visited Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. While in Moscow, Araghchi gave an interview to Russian state television network Russia Today, in which he said that Iran is “ready to continue” trilateral talks with China and Russia “and expand [the talks] to other issues.”  

“In most cases, we have close positions with each other and, most importantly, we are in constant exchange of views,” Araghchi said.