China will host talks with Russia and Iran in mid-March to discuss the “Iranian nuclear issue”, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. Ma Zhaoxu, China’s Vice Foreign Minister, will lead the meeting, the ministry stated at a regular press conference.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently rejected a US proposal for nuclear talks between the two countries, citing that the US aim to restrict the range of Iran’s missiles and its influence in the region was unacceptable. Khamenei’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump confirmed sending a letter to Khamenei, in which he sought a new agreement to curb Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the nuclear deal from which the US withdrew during his first term.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi also rejected negotiations with Trump, saying that as long as Trump made threats, no talks would be held. State media quoted Raisi as saying to Trump: “Do what the hell you want.”
In his recent interview, Trump stated that in a letter to Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he explained that a negotiation solution “would be much better for Iran”. Without negotiations, the US would have to militarily intervene and “that would be a terrible thing for them”, Trump threatened, adding that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons.
Russia and China believe that the US and Iran should resolve all their problems through negotiations. Moscow is “ready to do everything in its power to achieve this”, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in a recent interview with Bloomberg.