Beijing (TDI): China will hold a meeting on Friday in Beijing with Russia and Iran on Tehran’s “nuclear issue”, its foreign ministry said, with both countries sending their deputy foreign ministers.
Relations between Iran and Russia have deepened since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, with a strategic collaboration treaty inked in January. Both have good ties with China.
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the meeting, Mao Ning, a spokesperson of its foreign ministry, told a regular media conference on Wednesday.
The meeting will follow a closed-door gathering of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York the same day regarding Tehran’s expansion of its stocks of uranium that are close to weapons-grade.
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Last week, Russia said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed global efforts to tackle Iran’s nuclear program with its ambassador, Kazem Jalali, after reports that Moscow agreed to help US President Donald Trump’s administration in communicating with Iran.
Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.
However, the UN atomic watchdog IAEA has warned Tehran is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the weapons-grade level of roughly 90%.
Iran reached a deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with UK, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US in 2015, that lifted sanctions on the country in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
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But the US quit the plan in 2018 during Trump’s first term, and Iran started moving away from its nuclear-related commitments.
China has said it supports Tehran in safeguarding its legitimate rights and calling for an early resumption of the Iranian nuclear negotiations.
