China has been strengthening its ties to Iran in recent years, and that has included support to Iran's regional proxies—notably the Houthi rebels in Yemen. It is part of a burgeoning partnership or even a de facto alliance between Tehran and China.

Iran is pushing to recoup 25 million barrels of oil from China that has been stuck for six years in Chinese ports due to sanctions imposed by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, three Iranian and one Chinese source familiar with the matter said.

As the threat of "snapback" sanctions looms over Iran, Tehran is seeking to leverage its strategic relationship with China to counter Western pressure.

On Chinese social media, some want Iran to go nuclear – but others think it should learn from China’s “reform and opening.”

During the Senate confirmation hearings, Bessent called China an 'unbalanced economy,' and described the nation as being in a 'severe recession'

Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed that the United States is in a "stronger, more secure position" than four years ago under President Trump.

As C.I.A. director, William J. Burns was deeply focused on China and Russia when the Middle East conflict plunged him back into his old life.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a broad cooperation agreement, deepening their already growing partnership.

As Trump takes office, issues of arms control, the U.S. arsenal and weapons testing will be on the radar for many nuclear weapons researchers.

Russia and Iran signed a new treaty on Friday underpinning their economic and military cooperation, in what both sides cast as a major milestone in their relations. Pezeshkian said the pact would "open a new chapter in relations between Iran and Russia in all fields,

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.