Iran appoints Ghalibaf as special envoy to oversee ties with China

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been appointed as Iran's special representative for China affairs, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

Tasnim news agency cited informed sources in confirming the role, with other outlets carrying similar reports. Ghalibaf recently led Iran's diplomatic talks with the United States.

What is Ghalibaf's role as Iran's special envoy to China?

Ghalibaf will coordinate relations across various sectors between Iran and China. He was appointed at the proposal of President Masoud Pezeshkian and with the approval of supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The position mirrors a role previously held by senior security chief Ali Larijani before his death.

[Who held this China role before Ghalibaf?

Fars news agency reported that Ali Larijani, killed in US-Israeli strikes on March 17, previously oversaw Iran-China relations in a similar capacity.

Larijani was instrumental in advancing negotiations that produced the landmark 25-year Iran-China cooperation agreement in 2021. That deal remains a cornerstone of Iran's strategic relationship with Beijing.

Why has Ghalibaf become central to Iran's diplomacy?

Following the outbreak of war on February 28 involving Israel and the United States, Ghalibaf emerged as a key figure in high-stakes Iranian diplomacy. He led the single round of direct talks with the US held in April.

A number of senior Iranian officials, including former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, were killed during the conflict, which spread across the Middle East before a fragile ceasefire took hold on April 8.

What is happening at the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran has recently allowed several Chinese ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit it had blocked since the war began.

The Revolutionary Guards confirmed the transits followed an agreement on Iran's strait management protocols. The move signals a measured reopening of one of the world's most strategically significant waterways.