China and Russia are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with France and Britain, that took part in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement. Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018, setting in motion years of tensions in the wider Middle East.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, his Iranian counterpart Kazem Gharibadi, and Russian Vice Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Friday called for “an end to all illegal unilateral sanctions” and the creation of “a favorable atmosphere” for diplomacy.

Beijing sought to position itself as a key player in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, as President Trump called for talks with Tehran.

A U.N. fact-finding mission into Iran's treatment of women reported that the Islamic republic was resorting to extreme measures in its drive to restrict their rights, including electronic surveillance and camera-drones.

Iran increasingly relies on electronic surveillance and the public to inform on women refusing to wear the country's mandatory headscarf in public, even as hard-liners push for harsher penalties for t

Iran is increasingly relying on electronic surveillance and the public to inform on women refusing to wear the country's mandatory headscarf in public, as hard-liners push for