Iran's president says the country seeks greater cooperation with Beijing and Moscow to confront what he called Washington's unilateralism, just a few weeks before Donald Trump restores his so-called maximum pressure policy aimed at isolating Iran.
"The United States pursues authoritarianism and unilateralism on the international stage," Pezeshkian said in a meeting on Wednesday with China's vice premier Zhang Guoqing in Tehran.
"We are determined to expand our cooperation with China and Russia to counter unilateralism," the Iranian president said.
The government is working to implement the 25-year agreement between Beijing and Tehran, he said.
Announced in 2016, the comprehensive strategic partnership aimed to increase bilateral trade to $600 billion by 2026. However, trade volume reached just $12.5 billion last year according to the International Monetary Fund.
China remains Iran's largest trade partner and purchases nearly all of Iran's crude oil in defiance of US sanctions. Nonetheless, Chinese companies have secured substantial contracts with other regional players, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, totaling billions of dollars.
As debates in Iran continue over the possibility of negotiations with the United States, divisions have emerged. While some advocate for talks, others remain skeptical about their potential benefits or even feasibility.
Iran's embattled Vice President for Strategic Affairs and former foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, authored an article in Foreign Affairs titled "How Iran Sees the Path to Peace," stating, "The Islamic Republic is open to negotiations – including with America."
Zarif added: "Instead of increasing pressure on Iran, the West should pursue positive-sum solutions. The nuclear deal provides a unique example, and the West should look to revive it. But to do so, it must take concrete and practical actions—including political, legislative, and mutually beneficial investment measures—to make sure Iran can benefit economically from the agreement, as was promised. Should Trump decide to take such steps, then Iran is willing to have a dialogue that would benefit both Tehran and Washington."
While Zarif talked about "reviving" the 2015 nuclear deal, the United States clearly wants a totally new deal covering matters beyond the nuclear issue, including Iran's regional ambitions and its missile program which happens to be a source of concern for Iran's neighbors and European states.
Despite Zarif's overture, hardliner analyst Foad Izadi who is characterized by the Iranian state television as an expert on the United States, told conservative Nameh News website in Tehran: "We cannot say with a one hundred percent assurance whether negotiating with the United States is good or bad for Iran as we do not have access to confidential information."
Expressing distrust of the United States, Izadi accused the US, along with Turkey, of involvement in the Syrian insurgents' surprise attack on government forces allied with Iran. As evidence for his claim, he cited Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who remarked that "the United States was not surprised" by the attack on Aleppo, despite Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main insurgent group, being designated as a terrorist organization by the US.
Izadi further alleged, "If the Americans did not design the attack, they were at least aware of it—and they are undoubtedly pleased with what is happening in Syria." He added, "The United States' plan is to settle scores with the Islamic Republic within the next four years, as beyond that, it will be unable to act due to Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS agreements."
He further charged that Iranian supporters of negotiations with the United States are not aware that the other sides use negotiations only “to buy time, to confuse Iranian officials and to wage a psychological war on Iranians."
Iran should negotiate with the United States only when the officials can say with a high degree of certainty that the country is going to be better off after the talks, Izadi said.
Former head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Relations Committee, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, told the Khabar Online website in Tehran that China and Russia favor Trump's "maximum pressure" policy against Iran. He added that Russia is also wary of any potential agreement between Iran and Europe. However, he noted that Europe’s primary goal in its negotiations with Tehran is to address its own concerns.
Falahatpisheh emphasized that the United States remains the primary actor in negotiations with Iran. He argued that Iran's best course of action is to persuade Europe not to allow itself to be leveraged by the US to trigger the 2015 nuclear deal’s snapback mechanism against Iran.
He concluded, "Trump will never engage in negotiations that do not advance the interests of the United States."
Iran has no current intention to engage in dialogue with Washington, citing a lack of appropriate grounds for such discussions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told The New Arab on Monday.
"We are waiting to see how the new administration formulates its policies, and then we will determine our course of action," he added in comments released on Tuesday.
On Iran's negotiations with Europe over the nuclear issue, Araghchi, a key architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement, noted that Tehran has "many reasons to be pessimistic."
On Friday, German, British, and French political directors met with Iran's representative, Kazem Gharibabadi, in Geneva to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions, bilateral issues, and the regional situation, according to a post by the German Foreign Office on X. The statement noted that the parties agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue soon, but no tangible progress was announced.
Gharibabadi similarly reaffirmed Iran's general commitment to dialogue and engagement, though his comments indicated little progress beyond agreeing to continue discussions.
Notably, the US State Department had previously announced that the United States would not participate in the talks between Iran and the three European powers.
“We have made it clear that Iran must provide full cooperation with the IAEA without further delay. And we’ll continue to closely coordinate with the Governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said last week.
Tehran currently holds enough enriched uranium to produce four nuclear bombs, according to estimates by the IAEA. Although uranium enriched to 60% purity is not yet suitable as fissile material, Iran could refine it to weapons-grade levels within 2-3 weeks. This status, known as a nuclear-threshold position, implies that Iran could quickly transition to a nuclear-armed state if it has the technical capability to assemble a functional weapon.
Meanwhile, the United States is gearing up to reintroduce strict measures against Iran under President-elect Donald Trump. According to The Wall Street Journal, the incoming administration plans to reinstate the “maximum pressure” campaign, designed to limit Iran’s economic resources used to support armed groups and other hostile activities.
Last week, Mike Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, said, “The change you’re going to see is more focus on Iran.” During Trump’s previous term, his administration imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to hinder its nuclear program and diminish its regional influence.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited the homes of four senior clerics in Qom last week to secure their backing for negotiations with the West as the country finds itself ever weaker on the world stage.
State-run news outlets, including IRNA and ISNA, framed the visits as briefings on foreign policy and regional developments, highlighting Araghchi's portrayal of the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as a victory for Hezbollah and a defeat for Israel.
This outreach to senior Shiite clerics, or Grand Ayatollahs, aims to shore up support from the country's ultra-hardliners, suggesting that negotiations with the West do not compromise the Islamic Republic’s ideological principles which have so long spoken of the West as the enemy.
The general public largely backs negotiations for potential financial relief in exchange for political, military, or nuclear concessions, no longer seek reassurance from clerics, many believing their influence has waned due to the Islamic government’s mismanagement of the economy and overall decline.
Recent protests by teachers and pensioners, as well as widespread demonstrations since 2018, have seen calls for the government to prioritize domestic issues over foreign commitments such as the wars in Lebanon and Gaza, led by Iran's military allies around the region.
The clerics Araghchi met are elderly and often in poor health, with their public statements typically prepared by aides. Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli (born 1933), the youngest of the group, highlighted the importance of valuing Iran’s human resources over its oil and gas wealth. Notably, he is the only cleric among the four who has previously addressed the financial struggles of Iranians and urged the government to take action.
In a public statement, Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani (born 1925) emphasized strengthening the "axis of resistance," or Iran's military allies around the region, warning against trusting Israel’s ceasefire promises in the deal with Iran's most powerful ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He also called for bolstering Syria in its fight against ‘takfiris,’ a term Shiites often use to describe Sunni Muslim extremists as the country now descends deeper into civil war.
Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi (born 1926) also publicly cautioned against trusting the United States and the West, urging the government to assist Lebanon and Gaza in rebuilding areas damaged by Israeli attacks since war broke out last year following Iran-backed Hamas's invasion of Israel.
Large swathes of Lebanon and Gaza have been razed as Hezbollah and Hamas bury their military infrastructure within civilian areas, which has led to the deaths of thousands amid the war under Israeli bombardment.
Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani (born 1929) made no public statements, and ISNA reported that Araghchi also met with a representative of Iraqi Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Qom.
On the same day, Friday prayer leaders offered contrasting takes on diplomacy. Ahmad Alamolhoda, the hardline cleric in Mashhad, questioned the value of negotiations with Europe and criticized talks with the United Kingdom, France and Germany who were recently behind a censure resolution against the Islamic Republic.
In Tehran, Friday prayer leader Mohsen Aboutorabi-Fard struck a more conciliatory tone, suggesting that if the West alters its behavior, negotiations could proceed based on mutual respect and recognition of Iran’s interests. However, it comes as Donald Trump prepares to take office for the second time, with a "maximum pressure" approach to Iran likely on the agenda.
The outreach to Qom clerics underscores the government’s attempt to navigate internal political pressures while addressing ever-growing external challenges. As the foreign minister was meeting with the Grand Ayatollahs, Syrian rebels began a surprise offensive against Iranian and Syrian government forces, swiftly capturing Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo, and threatening Iran’s 13-year presence in the country.
Iranian negotiators held talks with the deputy head of the EU’s External Action Service on Thursday, setting the stage for Friday’s negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the three European nations collectively known as the E3.
A meeting is scheduled for Friday between the three European signatories of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear accord—the United Kingdom, France, and Germany (E3)—and the Islamic Republic, with the participation of EU representative Enrique Mora, who met with the Iranian envoys.
Both sides issued posts on X briefly describing the discussions, with widely different accounts, except calling the exchange as frank.
The EU official, Mora, enumerated the issues he brought to the attention of Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi, both Iran’s deputy foreign ministers.
“Frank exchange with Iran Deputy FM @TakhtRavanchi and @Gharibabadi on Iran’s military support to Russia that has to stop, the nuclear issue that needs a diplomatic solution, regional tensions (important to avoid further escalation from all sides) and human rights,” Mora tweeted.
Gharibabadi, tweeting on behalf of the Iranian side, detailed a lengthy list of alleged mistakes and missteps by the European Union and European powers.
“It was reaffirmed to him [Mora] that EU should abandon its self-centered and irresponsible behaviour towards issues and challenges of this continent and international matters,” he said.
The Iranian diplomat accused the European side of deflecting its own problems and mistakes onto others, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine. European nations have strongly condemned Iran’s role as a weapons supplier to Russia and have imposed sanctions on numerous companies and individuals linked to Tehran’s government.
Gharibabadi also strongly criticized Europe’s stance on Iran’s nuclear program, as Paris, London and Berlin have adopted a tougher position, backing a recent censure against Tehran at a meeting of UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Similarly, with regard to the nuclear issue of Iran, Europe has failed to be a serious player due to lack of self-confidence and responsibility. Europe is in need of self-recovery,” the Iranian diplomat said.
Iran’s government-controlled media has projected a positive tone regarding the talks with the Europeans, as US sanctions pose increasingly difficult challenges for Tehran. However, Gharibabadi’s tweet does not reflect a more flexible Iranian position.
Former Iranian foreign minister and presidential adviser Mohammad Javad Zarif told the media in Tehran that Europe should step down from its "high horse" when dealing with Iran, just days ahead of a scheduled meeting with European countries.
"Dialogue can always be constructive, but the other side (the European Union) must abandon its superiority complex and its stance as the center of global norms," Zarif said.
"They must step down from this so-called 'high horse' they are riding and engage with the world as equals, recognizing that if anyone needs to be held accountable, it is them,” he added.
Islamic Republic diplomats are set to meet with their counterparts from France, Garmany, the United Kingdom and the European Union on Friday to discuss controversial issues including Iran’s nuclear program and the crisis in the Middle East.
The meeting takes place after the UN nuclear watchdog issued a censure resolution condemning its lack of transparency and violation of obligations under a 2015 nuclear deal.
Zarif was the main Iranian negotiator from 2013-2015 when the JCPOA nuclear agreement was being hammered out with the three European powers, the United States, Russia and China.
The Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018, imposing sanctions, which led Iran to break the deal’s restrictions on uranium enrichment. Subsequent talks during the Biden administration failed to resurrect the accord, which many regard as dead and beyond repair.
Nevertheless, Zarif turned the blame to the US. "Iran has not withdrawn from the JCPOA; it has consistently declared its readiness to adhere to the agreement and has acted within its framework. However, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and violated its commitments," he said, meaning re-imposing economic sanctions.
He added, "The foundation of any new agreement will undoubtedly be the JCPOA, an agreement that took months and perhaps tens of thousands of man-hours in Iran, the US, Europe, Russia, and China to negotiate. As the Europeans put it, it is one of the most significant diplomatic achievements in the world."
It has been clear for several years that the JCPOA cannot be revived without addressing Iran’s breaches of the original agreement. Iran has continued to improve and expand its uranium enrichment by deploying more advanced centrifuges. As far back as 2020, Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declared that a new agreement is needed.
In December 2020, Grossi, speaking at the IAEA headquarters, said, "I cannot imagine that they are going simply to say, 'We are back to square one' because square one is no longer there.”
Zarif’s remarks, published only by more reformist websites, come amid a concerted effort by conservatives in parliament to pressure President Masoud Pezeshkian into removing him from the government.
They cite a 2022 law barring dual nationals or individuals with spouses or children holding dual nationality from serving in "sensitive positions" such as advisory roles to the president. Hardliners argue that this restriction applies to Zarif, alleging that his son holds US citizenship.