Chinese, Russian, and Iranian officials met on Friday and called for an end to U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program and for a resumption of multinational talks on their program.
The trio of countries “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi next to him, according to the Associated Press.
“The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,” Ma read.
The three countries released a “Five-Point Proposition on the Iran Nuclear issue,” which said they “oppose the use of force and illegal sanctions,” that Tehran should “continue honoring its commitment to not developing nuclear weapons,” and that all parties should “stay committed to the framework” of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
Their talks, which took place in Beijing, come as the Trump administration carries out President Donald Trump’s order for a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
Trump said last week that he wrote a letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressing an openness to a new agreement. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 agreement in 2018 during his first term in office.
“I said I hope you’re going to negotiate because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran, and I think they want to get that letter,” Trump said. “The other alternative is we have to do something because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
There has been an increased sense of urgency to curb Iran’s nuclear program amid the conflicts in the Middle East. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said in late January that Iran is “pressing the gas pedal” on its enrichment of uranium, while Iranian leaders maintain that their nuclear program is not for military purposes.
DID THE US INTEL AND MILITARY SUPPORT PAUSE LEAD TO RUSSIA’S KURSK ADVANCE?
Russia, China, and Iran have established close relationships with one another in recent years. Both Iran and China have directly and indirectly aided Russia with its war in Ukraine. Tehran has provided Russia with hundreds of one-way attack drones and aided them in establishing a factory to build them domestically, while Beijing has sought to indirectly aid Russia’s defense industrial base.