MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- 
China’s special envoy to the Middle East said here Friday Iran is a “special partner” of Beijing in West Asia, appreciating Tehran’s measures in the region.
Zhai Jun made the remarks during a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani on the sidelines of the Consultations of Deputy Foreign Ministers/Special Envoys of the BRICS group of emerging economies on the Middle East Affairs.
Zhai condemned the Zionist regime’s recent terrorist attack against the Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria and thanked Tehran for its actions in defense of the Palestinians’ rights, official news agency IRNA reported. 
China is Iran’s largest trade partner. Both countries are subject to different levels of illegal sanctions imposed by the U.S.
They have enjoyed close ties in recent years, particularly after the United States reinstated sanctions on the Iranian economy in 2018 after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal.
The two countries signed the landmark 25-year partnership agreement in March 2021 in an attempt to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance.
The deal was announced during President Xi’s visit to Tehran back in 2016. It sets the outlines of China-Iran cooperation in political, cultural, security, defense, regional, and international domains for the next 25 years.
Earlier on Friday, Bagheri Knai held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov.
The two sides discussed bilateral relations between Tehran and Moscow as well as regional issues.
On Wednesday, Iran and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop security cooperation.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Akbar Ahmadian and his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, put their signatures on the document, during a meeting on the sidelines of the 12th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in St. Petersburg.
Under the MoU, Tehran and Moscow will work towards boosting their cooperation in various strategic areas.
Iran and Russia, as two close and strategic allies, have over the past years deepened their ties in different fields, including security and defense, despite being under heavy Western sanctions.
The 12th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues was held in St. Petersburg through April 23-25, with the participation of delegates from 106 countries.