China is hosting diplomats from Iran and Russia for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program Friday as Beijing aims to position itself as a power broker on an issue seen internationally as a pressing security concern.

China and Russia stood by Iran on Friday after the United States demanded nuclear talks with Tehran, with senior Chinese and Russian diplomats saying dialogue should only resume based on "mutual respect" and all sanctions ought to be lifted.

China, Russia and Iran have called for an end of all “illegal and unilateral sanctions” and urged for abandoning “threats of force” against Tehran, as per a joint statement, following talks between the three countries in Beijing on Friday.

China, Iran and Russia have conducted joint naval drills in the Middle East. The joint drills held Tuesday, called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz,

Iran’s U.N. mission said it would be willing to discuss its nuclear program if talks were restricted to military concerns, after its supreme leader appeared to reject President Trump’s offer to start discussions.

In a joint statement after talks with Iran, China and Russia also said they welcomed Iran's reiteration that its nuclear programme was exclusively for peaceful purposes.

China will hold a meeting on Friday in Beijing with Russia and Iran on the Iranian "nuclear issue", its foreign ministry said, with both nations sending their deputy foreign ministers. Ties between Iran and Russia have deepened since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022,

Iranian media said that the Iranian navy had successfully executed the second day of the joint drill. “The three-day naval drills, codenamed the 2025 Maritime Security Belt, kicked off Monday in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman,

China, Iran and Russia have conducted joint naval drills in the Middle East. Called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, the exercises took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all crude oil traded worldwide passes.

China said it would host nuclear talks with Iran and Russia, days after US President Donald Trump urged Tehran to negotiate a new deal over its atomic work or face military action.