The Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (center left) holds talks with Chinese counterparts in Beijing, May 5, 2026. (Photo via Telegram/@araghchi)
May 10, 2026 09:41 PM GMT+03:00
Iran’s ambassador to Beijing has publicly called on China to serve as a guarantor for any potential agreement between Tehran and Washington, as both sides remain locked in negotiations mediated by Pakistan following a conditional ceasefire declared in April.
Ambassador Abdolreza Rahman Fazli made the appeal in a post on X on Sunday, writing that any agreement “must necessarily be accompanied by guarantees from the great powers and raised in the United Nations Security Council as well.”
He specifically named both China and Russia as powers capable of fulfilling that role, adding that Beijing’s standing in Iran and the wider Persian Gulf region made it “best placed to serve as the guarantor for any agreement.” Both countries hold permanent seats on the Security Council.
A demand for UN-level guarantees
Fazli’s call for Security Council backing comes as Tehran has separately demanded, according to Al Jazeera reporting, direct guarantees from the UN Security Council that Iran will not be subject to renewed strikes, alongside the lifting of sanctions.
Iran’s foreign minister has described an agreement as “just inches away” while accusing Washington of “maximalist demands.” President Trump, for his part, said most points had been agreed upon but that Iran remained “unyielding” on the nuclear file.
The US has put forward a 14-point proposal that would require Iran to halt uranium enrichment for at least 12 years and transfer an estimated 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent.
In exchange, Washington has offered to gradually lift sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets, and lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has not formally responded. An Iranian lawmaker described the document as “more of an American wish-list than a reality.”
China had signaled openness to a role
The proposal to install Beijing as a guarantor is not new to this round of diplomacy. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited China ahead of US-Iran talks held in Islamabad in early April, with Pakistani officials telling CNN that a potential Chinese guarantor role was on the agenda.
China’s Foreign Ministry subsequently said Beijing “supports mediation efforts by Pakistan and other countries” and is willing to “maintain communication and coordination with all parties to continue playing a constructive role in pursuing peace.”
At the UN Security Council in March, China’s representative said it was the United States that “unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, which triggered the Iran nuclear crisis,” and condemned Washington and Israel’s joint military operations, urging an immediate reversal.
China and Russia abstained on an 11 March Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Iranian counter-strikes against Arab states and reaffirmed freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s wider diplomatic push
The ambassador’s remarks fit into a broader Iranian effort to build multilateral backing for any eventual deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has in recent weeks visited Russia, Pakistan, and Oman as part of a diplomatic push to secure third-party support.
He met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, where Moscow reiterated its offer to take custody of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile as part of any settlement.
Analysts cited by Al Jazeera have noted in late April that Russia brings three assets Tehran values: a long-standing strategic relationship, a veto at the Security Council, and a technical role in the original 2015 nuclear deal. One analyst described Russia’s value as that of “a diplomatic stabiliser, technical facilitator and geopolitical counterweight” while cautioning that Moscow “cannot guarantee US sanctions relief, nor can it substitute for direct US-Iran understandings.”
May 10, 2026 09:56 PM GMT+03:00