Iran · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Visits Beijing for Talks With Wang Yi Ahead of Xi’s US Trip
Araghchi will visit Beijing to meet Wang Yi Ahead of Xi Jinping's planned meeting with Trump
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Araghchi heads to Beijing
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will make a one-day visit to China on Wednesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, with the meeting scheduled ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US.
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will make a one-day visit to China on Wednesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi”
The Anadolu Ajansı report said Wednesday’s meeting will mark their second in-person talks in the Chinese capital since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, and it noted that Wang last hosted Araghchi in Beijing in May ahead of US President Donald Trump’s summit with Xi.
The CNBC report said Araghchi will visit China on September 16, and it added that the US Department of Defense estimated the Iran war cost $33.4 billion as of June 29, while tracking the conflict up to the end of June.
CNBC also reported that the lead inspector general report to Congress said the expenditure of U.S. munitions “resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” and it cited damage to a fifth-generation F-35A and destruction of four F-15E fighter jets and an A-10 ground attack aircraft as of the end of June.
Hormuz talks postponed
Diplomacy suffered a setback as a much-anticipated meeting between Iran and Gulf countries on Monday, with the Strait of Hormuz expected to dominate the agenda, was postponed, according to China Daily.
China Daily quoted Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi writing on X that the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah had been postponed “in the interests of consensus,” and it said Mohammad Ali Bek, director-general for the Persian Gulf region department at Iran's Foreign Ministry, said the meeting was moved to another date at the request of some regional countries and by joint decision of Oman and Iran.
The same report said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei claimed Saudi Arabia requested that the meeting not be held for the time being, and it added that Baghaei said the continued conflict among Muslim countries only serves the Israeli goal of regional insecurity.
China Daily also described an Iranian vessel coming under attack off Qeshm Island during the weekend, with Tehran blaming the US and Baghaei saying the incident was “another indication that the US has deployed military forces to our region — thousands of kilometers away from its own borders — and, while claiming to be concerned about the safety and security of shipping, attacks Iranian vessels right off our coasts and borders”.
Talks amid wider pressure
As Araghchi and Wang Yi prepared to meet in Beijing, Trump said on Monday that he is willing to negotiate with Iran, writing on Truth Social that “The concept of which we are open to,” while France 24 reported the US president’s position after weeks of saying it was too early to make a deal.
“I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to”
France 24 also reported that Trump said, “The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” and it placed the statement alongside other regional developments including an oil tanker explosion after colliding with mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's IRGC said according to Fars.
In parallel, Al Jazeera framed the diplomatic timing around China’s role during the war, saying Araghchi is expected to be back in Beijing on Wednesday for his second visit to the Chinese capital since the US-Israel war on Iran began at the end of February.
Al Jazeera added that the trip comes shortly ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it noted that Xi urged the BRICS bloc to act as peacemakers in the Middle East conflict while promoting a four-point plan for de-escalation centered on peaceful coexistence, respect for national sovereignty, adherence to international law, and balancing development and security.