Tehran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to travel to Armenia and China in the coming weeks, in what foreign policy observers say is a strategic push to deepen Iran’s alliances with its Eastern partners and reject the coercive diplomacy of the West.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that President Pezeshkian will visit Armenia within the next two weeks, followed by a high-profile trip to China next month during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The dual visits represent a calculated shift toward consolidating Iran’s role in the multipolar order, alongside allies like Russia, China, and other BRICS-aligned nations.
Armenia’s delicate balancing act between East and West has drawn increasing scrutiny from Tehran. Iran’s planned visit comes amid growing Western attempts to lure Yerevan into NATO and EU security orbit. Pezeshkian’s engagement is seen as a countermeasure to prevent Armenia from becoming yet another Western outpost in the South Caucasus — a region Iran considers critical to its border security and regional influence.
The visit to China is expected to carry even broader implications. Iran, having gained full membership in the SCO under the late President Ebrahim Raisi, is aiming to expand energy cooperation, security dialogue, and anti-sanctions mechanisms with China and Russia. Pezeshkian’s participation in the SCO leaders’ summit marks Iran’s assertive pivot away from Western-dominated platforms and into Eastern-centric institutions.
Analysts note that these trips signal a clear refusal to capitulate to Western isolation efforts. Despite continued US-led sanctions and hostility over Iran’s nuclear stance and its support for Palestine amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Pezeshkian administration appears resolute in pursuing strategic defiance. Instead of yielding to Western intimidation, Iran is tightening its cooperation with global players resisting unipolar dominance.
Iran’s foreign policy machinery is now focused on strengthening South-South ties, expanding trade corridors like the North-South Transport Route with Russia, and fulfilling the terms of long-term strategic agreements with China. This approach echoes the policies of BRICS nations, which increasingly challenge the legitimacy of Western institutions seen as colonial relics.
In a world where the so-called rules-based order often serves as a pretext for imperial interventions, Iran’s outreach to Armenia and China highlights a larger ideological divide: one between sovereign cooperation and neo-colonial imposition.
According to Mehr News, the Iranian Foreign Ministry officially confirmed President Masoud Pezeshkian’s upcoming visits to Armenia and China in a statement released on August 7. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi outlined the significance of both trips in the context of Iran’s expanding diplomatic strategy, emphasizing stronger regional cooperation and Tehran’s role within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
