Iran 'firmly supports' one-China principle, blasts US 'provocative behavior'

Iran's top diplomat has berated the United States for its breach of China’s territorial integrity, in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's whirlwind visit to Chinese Taipei in defiance of repeated warnings from Beijing. 

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a tweet on Wednesday after Pelosi wrapped up her controversial two-day visit to Chinese Taipei as a show of support for separatist voices on the self-ruled island.

“Respect for countries’ territorial integrity is among the recognized fundamentals of the international law,” the top diplomat wrote. “Within this framework, the Islamic Republic’s support for the ‘one-China' principle is indubitable.”

“The US’s provocative measures,” he added, “have turned into a source of threat against the international peace and stability.”

China enjoys sovereignty over Chinese Taipei under the “one-China” principle. Almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty.

The United States, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted the Chinese Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.

Washington, which backs the Chinese Taipei’s secessionist president, also continues to sell weapons to the island in violation of its own stated policy.

The US House speaker was the highest-ranking American government official to visit Chinese Taipei in 25 years.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said the visit was part of US officials’ interference in China’s domestic affairs and would only foment tensions in the region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers respect for the territorial integrity of countries to be among the principles of its foreign policy, and support for the One China policy is unquestionable in line with this tenet,” he said.

Chinese ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua, in response, said his country appreciates Tehran’s condemnation of the US’ provocations.

“We praise the Iranian side’s condemnation of America’s provocative actions and interference in China’s internal affairs,” he tweeted.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Reza Zabib, the director general of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Asia and Oceania Department, termed the visit a “turning point” in the already tense ties between China and the United States.

He described heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing as “Cold War II,” which he said will bring about “major shocks” to international relations.

“Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is a turning point in relations between China and America and it will affect international relations with the reverberations it creates,” Zabib said.

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