FM Zarif dismisses rumors on selling Kish Island, cheap crude to China

Tehran, July 12, IRNA – Iran-China relations are strategic, and based on common interests, as well as mutual respect, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by Rapporteur of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's parliament Abolfazl Amouie as saying on Sunday. Zarif made the remarks in a session of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Sunday while briefing the Iranian lawmakers on the landscape for a 25-year Iran-China cooperation plan. Amouie cited Zarif as dismissing some rumors, including giving away Iran's Persian Gulf Island of Kish for rent to China and bestowing exclusive rights of selling oil to the Chinese companies at low prices. "Zarif stressed the significance of taking into consideration the national interest in drafting the document," the Iranian lawmaker said. "The rumors on Iran-China relations are the clear manifestation of the animosity towards the two countries," Amouie quoted Zarif as saying. During the 2016 visit of China's President Xi Jinping to Tehran, the two sides decided to design a 25-year comprehensive roadmap,