Iran invited Chinese tourists to visit Tehran, just days after a military confrontation with the United States.

“Rest assured, Chinese friends can spend the New Year holiday in Iran,” the Iranian Embassy in Beijing announced on Friday, referring to China's Jan. 24 Lunar New Year Day. “Security is not a problem.”

Iranian officials coupled the invitation with a boast about the ballistic missile strike against U.S. troops in Iraq. The strike resulted in no casualties but was a high-profile response to the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In its online post, Iran reveled in how Chinese social media users denounced the U.S. and supported Tehran. “At this special moment, we deeply feel warm from the comments of Chinese internet users, and we’d like very much to say thank you,” the embassy wrote.

The travel invitation may not bring the desired results, one expert said.

“I don’t think too many Chinese tourists are going to be rushing to Iran after the Iranians downed, or apparently downed, that Ukrainian airline,” James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Examiner.

Iran denies responsibility for the incident, saying that the Ukrainian International Airlines jet crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran as a result of a mechanical failure. Western officials believe it was shot down by mistake. The plane carried 176 people, including more than 80 Iranians and dozens of Canadian citizens.

Still, the embassy's invitation underscores how Iran and China cooperate on the international stage, especially when given the chance to align against the U.S.. “We have delivered a slap in the face to the US’s military adventurism,” the Iranian embassy tweeted. “We have also exercised the utmost restraint.”

The tourism bid came just weeks after a joint naval exercise last month involving China, Russia, and Iran. Analysts caution, though, against reading too much into the theatrics.

“The Chinese are very calculating about their global interests,” Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Washington Examiner. “And while China is central to Iran, Iran is an afterthought to China.”