September 22, 2020 Secretary-General Antonio Guterres United Nations UN Headquarters, S-3800 New York, NY 10017 Re: Strategic Partnership Agreement Being Negotiated Between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People’s Republic of China Dear Mr. Secretary-General, As the international community convenes to commence the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly, we write you to register our great dismay at having recently learned of a comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement being negotiated between the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People’s Republic of China. Negotiations concerning this Agreement commenced in early 2016, following a visit to Iran by President Xi Jinping, when the two countries undertook to commence a “new chapter” in their bilateral relations. Iranians have historically proven averse to allowing their country to align too closely with any great power. It should therefore come as no surprise that the recent emergence of scant details of the proposed Agreement has stoked a fierce reaction within Iran. The most common expressions of dismay posted on social media accounts in Iran are that the Islamic Republic is selling off the country to China. Critics have also routinely drawn parallels between this proposed Agreement and the humiliating Turkmenchay treaty pursuant to which Persia ceded vast territories to Russia in 1828. Indeed, the last time any Iranian Government contemplated entering into a bilateral treaty that affected the sovereign powers of the country was the Anglo-Persian Agreement of 1919. While that agreement was considered in the immediate aftermath of the immense devastation of the First World War, and was more modest than the comprehensive scope of the current Strategic Partnership Agreement, the intensity of the public outcry that ensued against foreign interference amongst Iranians compelled the then Government of the country to abandon the proposed initiative altogether. For over a century, concepts such as the moral imperative to pursue diplomacy, always frankly and in the public view, or the need to pursue international treaties, through open covenants openly arrived at, have been recognized as cherished principles to guide members of the international community in their conduct of international relations. However, it is clear that despite the many implications such an agreement will have for Iranians, the Islamic Republic has steadfastly failed to act in a transparent manner and by proceeding with such an Agreement will suffocate the legitimate aspirations and offend the inalienable rights of Iranians. 1
Letter Submitted to the Secretary General of the UN Regarding a Contemplated Iran China SPA
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