Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese version, a French international broadcaster, reported on the 12th, citing a report from the Hong Kong English-language newspaper South China Morning Post, that "China is expanding its scientific cooperation with Iran to the strategically sensitive field of rare earths."

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced on the 10th the "2026 National Natural Science Foundation of China - Iranian National Science Foundation (INSF) Bilateral Symposium Project Guidelines" (hereinafter referred to as "Guidelines"). Among them, "exploration and processing of rare earth elements" was included as one of the five selected cooperation areas.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China is a vice-ministerial level administrative agency that manages the National Natural Science Fund and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. The "Guidelines" state: "Based on the bilateral cooperation agreement concluded between the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Iranian National Science Foundation and subsequent agreements reached, in 2026, both parties will jointly fund bilateral symposium projects and support cooperation and exchanges between scientists from both countries."

The article reported: "Currently, the Middle East situation is particularly sensitive, and the conflict over attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel has not yet subsided. Meanwhile, rare earths have become extremely crucial for modern weaponry, from missiles, fighter jets, and radar to other electronic systems." (Translated and Edited by Kitada)