Nuclear Deal In Doubt As Iran Seeks Closer Relationship With China

Negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal are looking increasingly likely to end in stalemate.

• This week Iran has been seeking an expansion of their bilateral relationship with China. Today Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed an expansive economic and security cooperation agreement.
• Iran is also seeking to firm up its relationship with Russia in the coming weeks. Neither China, nor Russia want Iran to develop nuclear weapons and with both countries are represented at the negotiations in Vienna it is unclear yet how the Iranian diplomatic drive will influence proceedings.
• China has been an economic lifeline for Iran since the heavy sanctions imposed in 2018. According to Kypler China imported approximately 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran.