March 12, 2025 (EIRNS)—While Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian declined to discuss the Iran nuclear issue with the United States in response to Trump’s letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei about starting discussions, Iran has expressed interest in the Chinese proposal to discuss the issue with China and Russia. China, Russia, and Iran have just concluded naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Oman. Chinese Foreign Vice-Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the trilateral meeting on March 14, joined by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. According to a statement on March 9, Tehran’s UN mission said talks could proceed if limited to military aspects. It appeared cautiously open despite Khamenei’s previous strong rejections.
The meeting will follow a closed-door gathering of the UN Security Council the same day regarding Iran’s expansion of its stocks of uranium that are close to weapons grade.
