Iran has announced plans to hold high-level meetings with Russia and China during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, as it seeks diplomatic backing following last month’s 12-day air war with Israel.

“We will have bilateral meetings with the Chinese foreign minister, which naturally has its own importance in the current situation, as well as with the Russian foreign minister,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Telegram.

The SCO is a 10-member Eurasian political and security bloc that includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Its 25th foreign ministers’ meeting is taking place in Tianjin, northern China.

In June, Israeli and US forces launched joint airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, claiming the targeted sites were part of a covert weapons programme. Tehran has consistently denied the accusation, insisting its nuclear ambitions remain peaceful.

Since the United States reinstated sanctions on Iran during President Donald Trump’s first term, Tehran has moved to strengthen strategic partnerships with Moscow and Beijing. China now purchases up to 90% of Iran’s oil exports, while Iran has signed a 20-year cooperation pact with Russia.

Araqchi described the SCO as an increasingly influential platform: “The SCO is gradually opening up its place in the global arena, meaning it is gradually going beyond the regional arena, and it has many different issues on its agenda, including in the economic, political and security fields,” he wrote.

Follow us on: