BEIJING: China has rejected reports that it is supplying Iran with a shipment of air defence missiles, describing the reports as inaccurate and contrary to facts.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular press briefing in Beijing that China had repeatedly clarified its position on the matter. She stressed that Beijing has consistently worked for peace and an end to conflicts.
Earlier reports had claimed that China would provide Iran with hundreds of shoulder-fired air defence missile launchers, with Pakistan allegedly being used as a transit route. Pakistan’s military has also dismissed those claims as baseless and contrary to reality.
The reported allegations, attributed to unnamed sources, suggested that an initial shipment could travel by air from China’s western city of Urumqi through Pakistan to Iran. Both China and Pakistan have now categorically rejected the reports.
