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China and Iran
have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been active in pushing both
the United States and Iran to reach agreement on the nuclear
issue.
China had long railed against unilateral sanctions imposed on
Iran by the United States and Europe, though it has supported
U.N. ones, and had denounced threats of force.
Zarif will travel to China on Sept. 15 at the invitation of
Wang, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news
conference.
News of the visit came a day after a Republican-backed effort to
kill the Iran nuclear agreement was narrowly blocked in the U.S.
Senate, clearing the way for its implementation.
Under the deal, agreed in July, sanctions imposed by the United
States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in
return for Iran agreeing to long-term curbs on a nuclear program
that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear
bomb.
In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Barack
Obama that China would work with the United States and others to
ensure the implementation of the agreement.
(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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