Iran has hit out at the US-led diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics ©Getty Images

The United States-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games has been condemned by Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has held a phone call with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, during which Beijing 2022 was among the topics discussed.

Abdollahian "condemned behavior of the US Administration and some Western countries with regard to the diplomatic sanctioning of the 2022 Winter Olympics", according to an Iranian Government statement.

Iran's Foreign Minister also anticipates that senior officials from the country will attend the Games, and expressed confidence that the event would be held successfully.

Relations between Iran and the US are fraught, in significant part because of disagreements over Iran's nuclear programme, so the country's opposition to the Americans' stance on Beijing 2022 is not a surprise when viewed through this context.

Vienna nuclear talks aimed at restoring a 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with the US, China, United Kingdom, France, Russia and Germany were the principle subject of the call between Wang and Abdollahian.

A diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 has so far been backed by the US, Canada, Britain, Lithuania, New Zealand, Australia and Belgium.

It centres on China's record on human rights, particularly in Xinjiang, where it is claimed that China's actions amount to a genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

China's record on human rights has led several nations into a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics ©Getty Images
China's record on human rights has led several nations into a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics ©Getty Images

China has been accused of using forced Uyghur labour, operating a mass surveillance programme, detaining thousands in internment camps, carrying out forced sterilisations and intentionally destroying Uyghur heritage.

Denying these charges, China claims the camps are training centres designed to stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism.

Yet it has so far refused calls to allow the United Nations (UN) unobstructed access to the region to investigate.

UN secretary general António Guterres is due to visit Beijing 2022.

Several of the nations executing a diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 already have strained relations with China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has warned that countries diplomatically boycotting the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will "pay the price".

A diplomatic boycott does not impact the participation of athletes from these nations.