China and Russia call for end to nuclear sanctions on Iran

The Iran-Russia-China axis provides Iran with immunity against a Security Council resolution that could harm its nuclear programme,

Avi Melamed, a Middle East strategic intelligence analyst, told The Independent

Solving the nuclear issue requires efforts and compromises from all parties concerned. Single mandatory requirements for any party will not help solve the problem,

he told The Independent,

We’re down to the final moments … Something’s going to happen very soon … We have a situation with Iran, and something’s going to happen very soon. Very, very soon, you’ll be talking about that pretty soon, I guess."

In the Oval Office, Trump stressed urgency

Ali Khameneisupreme Leader

Unfortunately if Khamenei remains in power and seeks an opening to the outside world, he is more likely to look to the Soviet Union than to the US. He is a graduate of Moscow’s Patrice Lumumba university."

On June 12, 1989, a week after Khamenei became supreme leader, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Smith Hempstone, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, warned in the Observer-Reporter

Interestingly, many of Iran’s hardest hardliners were trained in the Soviet Union" ... Iran’s spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was himself a graduate of the USSR's training academy for third-world anti-Americans, Patrice Lumumba University."

Dr. Ilan Berman, appointed to the RFE/RL Board of Directors by Trump’s administration in February 2025, reinforced this back in 2001, stating

Maria Bartiromohost

There are reports now that Russia says it will help the United States negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. What kind of a deal with Iran do you want to do? You’ve said they cannot have a nuclear weapon." ... There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal."

On March 7, Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo asked President Donald Trump ... Trump made his position clear

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 Iranian nuclear program is peaceful in nature,

said Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi on Friday

Mao Ning (diplomat)chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson

In the current situation, we believe that all parties should maintain calm and restraint to avoid escalating the Iran nuclear situation, or even walking towards confrontation and conflict."

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated

Well, maybe they're going to talk about non-nuclear problems. Maybe they're going to be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons."

U.S. President Donald Trump said

Another clear proof of the falsity of these statements and another sign of its hostility to development."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the new U.S. sanctions

Abbas Araghchidiplomat

Ultimately, the United States should lift the sanctions,

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview published by the government's official newspaper on Thursday

Mao Zedongchairman

We emphasised the necessity of ending all illegal, unilateral sanctions,

Ma told reporters

The main root cause of the current situation is the unilateral withdrawal of the United States,

Gharibabadi said

Our nuclear programme has never been diverted to non-peaceful purposes,

Gharibabadi said

Now the situation has reached a critical juncture again. We must buy time for peace, resolve disputes through political and diplomatic means, and oppose the use of force and illegal sanctions,

he said

China, Russia and Iran emphasised that the relevant parties should be committed to addressing the root cause of the current situation and abandoning sanction, pressure or threat of force,

China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told reporters after the meeting

I can barely cover the rent for my carpet shop or pay my workers' salaries. No one has the money to buy carpets. If this continues, I will have to lay off my staff,

Morteza, 39, said by phone from Tehran's Grand Bazaar, giving only his first name

Alireza Yousefiiranian weightlifter

The situation worsens daily. I can't afford my rent, pay my bills, or buy clothes for my children,

said Alireza Yousefi, 42, a teacher from Isfahan

There is no question whatsoever that the man who has been the Supreme Leader since 1989 and his foreign policy preferences are more guilty than anybody else for the state of affairs,

said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute think-tank in Washington