The Media Line: China Convenes Nuclear Summit With Russia, Iran as Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment Nears Weapons-Grade 

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China Convenes Nuclear Summit With Russia, Iran as Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment Nears Weapons-Grade 

By The Media Line Staff 

China will host a high-level meeting on Friday in Beijing with Russia and Iran to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue, China’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday. Both Moscow and Tehran are sending deputy foreign ministers to participate, a clear sign of deepening ties among the three nations. 

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu is set to chair the talks, which come as the United Nations Security Council convenes behind closed doors in New York to address concerns over Tehran’s growing stockpile of uranium nearing weapons-grade purity. Ties between Iran and Russia, already under Western scrutiny since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, have strengthened further following a strategic cooperation treaty signed in January. Both countries maintain positive relations with Beijing, which has consistently voiced support for Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear development and called for renewed negotiations on the stalled Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 

Last week, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed international efforts to tackle Iran’s nuclear program with Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali, following reports of Russian engagement with US President Donald Trump’s administration to facilitate communication with Tehran. Iran, which insists it does not seek nuclear weapons, has been accelerating enrichment of uranium to levels that the International Atomic Energy Agency warns are “dramatically” close to weapons-grade. The JCPOA, designed to lift sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear activities, was upended in 2018 when Washington withdrew from the pact. Beijing, for its part, has urged all parties to resume talks promptly to prevent further escalation.