ISLAMABAD  (DNA) – – China has reportedly offered and desired to bring Iran into the loop of China Pakistan Economic Corridor Project.

“China is interested in the partnership of the friendly states and neighbors of Pakistan, specially Iran, in the CPEC project,” Chinese Ambassador to Islamabad Yao Jing said during a press conference in Islamabad on Monday.

Yao Jing underscored that the project benefits not only Pakistan and China but also all the regional states.

Last month, a Saudi team arrived in Pakistan to sign four contracts for oil and mineral sector investment and trade cooperation that “would ultimately extend the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Gwadar to Africa through Oman and Riyadh.”

However, analysts say Pakistan’s offer to Saudi Arabia to participate in CPEC and Riyadh’s investment in western Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, could irk Tehran.

Riyadh is Washington’s closest ally in the region, and its involvement in a China-led economic project raises a number of questions about new geopolitical alignments.