TEHRAN -- 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.

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 US 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.