TEHRAN, May 17 (Xinhua) - Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been appointed as the country's special representative for China affairs, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks at a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 2, 2025. (File photo: Xinhua)

The position was previously held by Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's current ambassador to China, and Ali Larijani, former secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who was killed in a U.S. and Israeli attack in March.

Ghalibaf was Iran's chief negotiator in peace talks with the United States following the April 8 ceasefire between Tehran and Washington after 40 days of fighting.