Chinese, Russian, and Iranian officials met on Friday and called for an end to U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program and for a resumption of multinational talks on their program. The trio of countries “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions,

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.

For Iran's clerical leaders, engaging with the "Great Satan" to hammer out a nuclear deal and ease crippling sanctions may for once be the lesser of two evils. Though it harbours deep mistrust of the United States,