Iran defense minister in China for SCO meeting, mutual talks

General Aziz Nasirzadeh arrived in Qingdao, China, early on Wednesday.

The high-level summit, taking place over two days—Wednesday and Thursday—is chaired by Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and brings together top defense officials from across the region.

According to a statement from the Chinese ministry of defense, Minister Dong held meetings on the sidelines of the summit with his counterparts from SCO member states, including Iran’s Nasirzadeh, Belarus’ Viktor Khrenin, Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif, Kyrgyzstan’s Ruslan Mukambetov, and Russia’s Andrei Belousov.

The SCO summit serves as a key platform for addressing regional security, counterterrorism cooperation, and broader military collaboration among member states.

Nasirzadeh’s visit comes just one day after a unilateral ceasefire was declared by Tel Aviv, marking the end of its recent aggression against the Islamic Republic.

During his stay in China, the Iranian defense minister is also expected to meet with senior Chinese leaders to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments, with enhanced military cooperation between Tehran and Beijing high on the agenda./mehr