In a meeting on the sidelines of the Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan’s Cholpon-Ata on Friday, Araqchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi talked about the bilateral relations, regional and international developments, as well as issues on the agenda of the SCO.

Highlighting the strategic partnership between Tehran and Beijing, the ministers reaffirmed their leaders' commitment to further strengthening cooperation across all areas of mutual interest. They also stressed the importance of fully implementing bilateral agreements and making greater use of the capacities of the SCO and BRICS to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Araqchi outlined the consequences of the US' blatant violation of a memorandum of understanding ending the war, condemning Washington's attacks on Iran's vital infrastructure and war crimes committed against the country.

The Iranian foreign minister said the current insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region is solely the result of the US’ breach of its commitments and its disruption of the implementation of Iran's obligations under Clause 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

Reaffirming Iran's determination to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against US military aggression, Araqchi also stressed that all governments have a responsibility to prevent the continued erosion of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and the normalization of the use of force in international relations.

For his part, Wang Yi said restoring peace and stability in West Asia requires stronger trust and cooperation among the countries of the region, reaffirming China's readiness to provide any assistance to support that objective.