2 hours ago BIV
May 17, 2026 | Burma Independent Voice
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who recently emerged as a top negotiator in talks with the United States, has been appointed to oversee affairs related to Iran-China relations, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.
Citing credible sources, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported: “Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was recently appointed as the Special Envoy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the People’s Republic of China.” Other domestic media outlets have subsequently amplified the report.
According to Tasnim, Ghalibaf’s appointment was made upon the proposal of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and with the official endorsement of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. In this role, Ghalibaf will serve as the “chief coordinator for multifaceted relations between Iran and China.”
The Fars News Agency noted that Ali Larijani, the former security chief who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on March 17, had previously served in a similar capacity as the special envoy to China. Larijani was instrumental in leading negotiations that culminated in the landmark 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement between Iran and China in 2021.
Following the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on February 28, Ghalibaf emerged as a central figure leading renewed high-level diplomatic talks with Washington throughout April.
The conflict, which swiftly engulfed the wider Middle East, resulted in the deaths of numerous senior Iranian officials, including the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, before a fragile ceasefire agreement was finally reached on April 8.
Amid these developments, Iran recently permitted several Chinese cargo vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz—a vital global energy corridor that Tehran had blockaded since the onset of the war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the vessels were granted passage “following a mutual agreement regarding Iran’s maritime management protocols over the strait.”
