Iran to hold talks with Chinese, Russian partners at summit
“We will have bilateral meetings with the Chinese foreign minister, which naturally has its own importance in the current situation, as well as with the Russian foreign minister,” Abbas Araqchi said.
By REUTERS Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers' Council meeting in Beijing, China July 13, 2025.(photo credit: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Iran said it will hold talks with its main Asian partners, Russia and China, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Tuesday, as Tehran looks for support following a 12-day air war with Israel last month.
“We will have bilateral meetings with the Chinese foreign minister, which naturally has its own importance in the current situation, as well as with the Russian foreign minister,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Telegram.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Tianjin, in northern China, is hosting the 25th SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting.
In June, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which they said were part of a nuclear program geared toward weaponisation. Tehran denies having any such plans.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. (credit: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS)
Since Trump's first term, Tehran has deepened ties with Moscow
Since the re-imposition of American sanctions on Iran during US President Donald Trump’s first term, Tehran has deepened ties with both Moscow through a 20-year strategic pact and Beijing, which buys as much as 90% of Iranian oil exports.
“The SCO is gradually opening up its place in the global arena, meaning it is gradually going beyond the regional arena, and it has many different issues on its agenda, including in the economic, political, and security fields," Araqchi wrote.
