{"id":726,"date":"2025-03-15T08:34:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T08:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2025-03-15T08:34:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T08:34:37","slug":"china-russia-urge-u-s-to-lift-sanctions-on-irans-nuclear-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=726","title":{"rendered":"China, Russia Urge U.S. to Lift Sanctions on Iran&#8217;s Nuclear Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Iran<\/strong> nuclear talks in <strong>Beijing<\/strong>, <strong>Canada<\/strong>\u2019s new prime minister being sworn in, and former <strong>Philippine<\/strong> President Rodrigo Duterte appearing before the <strong>International Criminal Court<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletters-page newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\">Sign Up<\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Sanctions Pushback <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>High-level officials from China, Russia, and Iran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/03\/13\/china\/nuclear-talks-china-iran-russia-intl-hnk\/index.html\">convened<\/a> in Beijing on Friday to call for an end to U.S. sanctions on Tehran over its advancing nuclear program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]he relevant parties should be committed to addressing the root cause of the current situation and abandoning sanction, pressure, or threat of force,\u201d Chinese Vice Foreign Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/china-russia-iran-nuclear-talks-5ead4a1969e6645c7afb5557a37061e8\">Ma Zhaoxu<\/a> read from a joint statement, adding that dialogue based on \u201cmutual respect\u201d is the only viable path forward.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/14\/world\/asia\/china-iran-trump-russia.html\">five-point plan<\/a> for \u201cthe proper settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.\u201d His proposal includes ending sanctions, restarting multinational talks, and using the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as the basis of future negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal is likely to face U.S. pushback. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 deal during his first term, arguing that it was not restrictive enough on Tehran\u2019s nuclear program and that the sanctions relief that it provided was enabling Iran to fund its proxy groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p>Trump wrote to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week in an effort to jump-start new talks. \u201cThere are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal,\u201d Trump said at the time. And on Thursday, the Trump administration issued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/sanctions-on-irans-oil-minister-and-shadow-fleet-to-exert-maximum-pressure\/\">new sanctions<\/a> on Tehran as part of the U.S. president\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/02\/05\/trump-iran-maximum-pressure-presidential-memorandum\/\">maximum pressure<\/a>\u201d strategy, which is aimed at forcing Iran back to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p>But Iran\u2019s leadership seems disinclined to talk to Washington. \u201cWhen we know they [the United States] won\u2019t honor it, what\u2019s the point of negotiating?\u201d Khamenei <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/iran-s-khamenei-rejects-idea-of-nuclear-talks-with-us\/8008333.html\">said<\/a> on Wednesday, adding to previous comments that he is not interested in talks with a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/china-iran-russia-kick-off-talks-beijing-over-irans-nuclear-issues-2025-03-14\/\">bullying government<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi maintained on Friday that the country\u2019s nuclear program is \u201cpeaceful in nature.\u201d But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains concerned. According to the IAEA\u2019s most recent quarterly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iaea.org\/newscenter\/focus\/iran\/iaea-and-iran-iaea-board-reports\">reports<\/a>, Iran now enriches uranium at up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/iaea-chief-sees-time-running-out-revive-iran-nuclear-deal-2025-02-14\/\">60 percent purity<\/a>. The agency believes that within a few weeks, Iran could reach the 90 percent weapons-grade level enrichment threshold. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was only allowed to enrich uranium up to <a href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/node\/328996\">3.67 percent purity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A closed-door meeting this week with six members of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Tehran\u2019s nuclear program drew ire from Iran, which said that the session was a \u201cmisuse\u201d of the council\u2019s purpose. Yet as FP\u2019s Lili Pike <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/14\/china-iran-nuclear-program-trump-khamenei\/\">noted<\/a>, Iran was willing to participate in Friday\u2019s nuclear talks in Beijing with China and Russia, as both are close partners of Tehran\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>As for why China is taking such a direct interest in nuclear diplomacy with the country right now: \u201cThe potential risk of a military conflict over the Iranian nuclear crisis could introduce so much regional instability and chaos that could further disrupt China\u2019s geo-economic and geopolitical interests,\u201d Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace\u2019s nuclear policy program, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/14\/china-iran-nuclear-program-trump-khamenei\/\">told<\/a> Pike. \u201cMore nuclear confrontation among more nuclear-armed countries is not necessarily good news for any future leader of the international system,\u201d Zhao added.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Carney takes on Washington. <\/strong>Former central banker Mark Carney was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/mark-carney-be-sworn-canadian-prime-minister-now-must-face-trump-2025-03-14\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=031425&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">sworn in<\/a> on Tuesday as Canada\u2019s new prime minister. Carney is best known for leading the Bank of Canada through the 2008 global recession and the Bank of England through Brexit, and the Liberal Party hopes that <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/10\/mark-carney-canada-prime-minister-trump-elections-trade-war\/\">Carney\u2019s economic experience<\/a> will be enough to counter Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/12\/quebec-international-relations-minister-trump-tariffs-united-states-canada\/\">aggressive tariff policies<\/a> as well as his repeated efforts to make Canada the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/12\/19\/trump-canada-us-state-tariffs-border-security-trudeau\/\">51st U.S. state<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Talks are already underway to schedule a call between Carney and Trump, Canadian Foreign Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly said on Friday. But senior U.S. officials reportedly told a Canadian delegation on Thursday that there is no way that Ottawa will be able to avoid the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/14\/world\/canada\/trump-tariffs-canada-global-trade.html\">next round of expected duties<\/a>, which will be imposed on April 2. In that vein, Carney\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/cr42kvnw5zzt?post=asset%3A7a39c886-a7d0-4e1a-8a1e-4bceaa5e29ee#post\">first foreign trip<\/a> as prime minister on Monday will not be to Washington (as it has historically often been) but to Paris and London, where he will discuss Trump\u2019s tariff threats.<\/p>\n<p>Carney is the first Canadian head of government to have never held elected office before. With the Liberal Party holding a minority of seats in the House of Commons, Carney will likely have to call for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/14\/world\/canada\/canada-prime-minister-mark-carney-trump.html\">federal election<\/a> by May.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ambassador expelled.<\/strong>\u00a0U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecRubio\/status\/1900648757647048884\">announced<\/a> on Friday that the South African ambassador to the United States was \u201cno longer welcome in our great country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEbrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA,\u201d Rubio\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecRubio\/status\/1900655283380146267\">wrote<\/a>\u00a0in a late-afternoon post on X.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/02\/12\/south-africa-trump-musk-afrikaners-refugees-ramaphosa-anc\/\">Tensions<\/a>\u00a0between Washington and Pretoria have risen sharply since Trump took office, with the U.S. president and his officials accusing the country\u2019s leaders of \u201cunjust racial discrimination\u201d against white South Africans under the country\u2019s land reform law. The White House has also objected to Pretoria\u2019s stance on Israel, including its case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Rasool had found himself shut out of meetings with top U.S. officials, including State Department members, since the Trump administration took office,\u00a0<em>Semafor<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/03\/12\/2025\/south-africas-us-ambassador-shut-out-of-washington\">reported<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday. According to one South African diplomat, this was likely due to Rasool\u2019s past criticism of Israel. \u201cA man named Ebrahim, who is Muslim, with a history of pro-Palestine politics, is not likely to do well in that job right now,\u201d the diplomat told\u00a0<em>Semafor<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Duterte vs. the ICC. <\/strong>Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was set to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the first time on Friday to face <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icc-cpi.int\/sites\/default\/files\/CourtRecords\/0902ebd180aeb09d.pdf\">charges<\/a> accusing him of committing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icc-cpi.int\/news\/mr-rodrigo-roa-dutertes-initial-appearance-scheduled-14-march-2025-practical-information\">crimes against humanity<\/a> during his <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/13\/duterte-marcos-drug-war-icc-arrest1189610\/\">war on drugs<\/a>. But his legal team told the ICC justices that Duterte was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/philippines-duterte-have-first-court-appearance-hague-2025-03-14\/\">too ill<\/a> to give evidence. According to presiding ICC judge Iulia Motoc, though, the court doctor who examined Duterte upon his arrival had determined that he was \u201cfully mentally aware and fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duterte eventually appeared before the court via a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/03\/14\/europe\/rodrigo-duterte-first-icc-appearance-hague-intl\/index.html\">video link<\/a>. \u201cAs Mr. Duterte made a long journey, involving a considerable time difference, the chamber authorized Mr. Duterte to follow the hearing at a distance,\u201d Motoc said.<\/p>\n<p>Philippine authorities arrested Duterte on Tuesday at Manila\u2019s international airport on the ICC arrest warrant, but Duterte\u2019s lawyers on Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/14\/world\/asia\/duterte-philippines-icc-crimes-against-humanity.html\">accused<\/a> the country\u2019s security personnel of \u201cpure and simple kidnapping.\u201d Duterte stands accused of presiding over torture and rape as well as \u00a0large-scale killings of thousands of people between November 2011 and March 2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tougher national security. <\/strong>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te formally labeled China as a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c3e4dg3e2z4o\">foreign hostile force<\/a>\u201d on Thursday as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taiwan-president-says-china-has-deepened-influence-campaign-infiltration-against-2025-03-13\/\">controversial new proposal<\/a> to bolster Taipei\u2019s national security. Lai accused Beijing of increasing gray zone attacks and infiltrating Taiwan\u2019s state institutions. On Friday, Taiwan\u2019s Defense Ministry detected 12 Chinese fighter jets, seven navy ships, and one \u201cofficial\u201d vessel near the island.<\/p>\n<p>As part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/mar\/14\/taiwan-president-lai-ching-te-china-hostile-force-speech\">Lai\u2019s proposal<\/a>, Taipei would reestablish its peacetime military court system to prosecute \u201cmilitary crimes as sedition, aiding the enemy, leaking confidential information, dereliction of duty, or disobedience.\u201d Beijing quickly condemned the move, calling Lai a \u201cdestroyer of cross-straits peace\u201d and accusing him of pushing Taiwan toward the \u201cperilous brink of war.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What in the World?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On Monday, which militant group in Syria agreed to fully integrate into the new Syrian state?<\/p>\n<p>A. Syrian Democratic Forces<br \/>B. Syrian National Army<br \/>C. National Front for Liberation<br \/>D. Al-Nusra Front<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>An American influencer <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-wombat-snatching-influencer-sam-jones-a87f314a9f9c4175b886181d96392c15?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_14%20Mar_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">left Australia<\/a> on Friday after Canberra announced that it was reviewing her visa. Sam Jones, a self-described \u201coutdoor enthusiast &amp; hunter\u201d had posted a video of herself this week snatching a baby wombat from its mother, igniting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/03\/13\/wombat-snatch-influencer-ausrtalia\/\">fierce outcry<\/a> among Australians. \u201cTo take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress to its mother, is just an outrage,\u201d Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, adding that maybe the influencer should \u201ctake a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there\u201d rather than going after an animal that cannot defend itself.<\/p>\n<p>A new TikTok account claiming to have been created by Jones after the incident <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2025\/mar\/14\/sam-jones-baby-wombat-australia-backlash-leaving-australia\">posted an apology<\/a>, calling her handling of the animal \u201ca mistake\u201d and saying that she had received death threats over it.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A. Syrian Democratic Forces<\/p>\n<p>Despite the promise such an agreement presents for Syria\u2019s future, long-standing ethnic and sectarian divisions will be difficult to overcome, FP\u2019s Steven Cook <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/13\/syria-sharaa-alawites-latakia-sunni-druze\/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/14\/foreign-policy-news-quiz-myanmar-election-canada-mark-carney-syria-democracy\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/14\/china-russia-iran-nuclear-talks-us-sanctions-trump\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Iran nuclear talks in Beijing, Canada\u2019s new prime minister being sworn in, and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appearing before the International Criminal Court. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}