TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran’s minister of interior and China’s ambassador to Tehran on Sunday discussed plans for cooperation between police forces of the two countries and fight against terrorism and drug smuggling.
Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told Chang Hua that Tehran regards Beijing as a close partner.
He said China’s stances in the international organizations and its close cooperation with Iran are very important to the Iranian people.
The minister expressed confidence that "the independent and powerful state of China will not be influenced” by foreign pressures in its relations with Iran.
Rahmani Fazli further voiced Iran’s readiness to promote cooperation with China in the fight against organized crimes, terrorism and drug trafficking, and called for close interaction between police and security forces of Iran and China.
"Iran has been a victim of terrorism and also fought against terrorism for a long time, and could share its experiences with China,” the interior minister added.
For his part, the Chinese ambassador stressed the need for expansion of  cooperation with Iran, hoping that Iran and China would elevate their relations to strategic ties.
"China has always opposed the imposition of unilateral, cruel and illegal sanctions against Iran,” Chang said.
In August, Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif paid a visit to China to explore avenues for further expansion of relations between the two nations in talks with senior Chinese officials.