Iran International
Iranian media have welcomed Beijing’s unusually sharp rhetoric in support of Tehran, portraying recent Chinese diplomacy as evidence of a deepening strategic partnership.
Much of the coverage has focused on Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Beijing and his meetings with senior Chinese officials.
During the trip, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered some of Beijing’s strongest language to date on the conflict, condemning what he called “warmongering by the US and Israel” and warning that the region had reached a “decisive turning point.”
Iranian outlets quickly cast the remarks as evidence that China was moving closer to Tehran.
Economic daily Donya-ye-Eqtesad linked Beijing’s rhetoric to Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China, arguing that the Chinese were trying to secure a de-escalation framework before the summit while resisting US pressure over the Strait of Hormuz.
Other Iranian analyses cited Chinese Communist Party journals describing the conflict as a costly strategic failure for Washington.
The Iranian economic site Tahlil Bazaar highlighted articles in Qiushi arguing that the war had damaged US credibility and increased economic pressure on Western countries through rising energy prices.
These narratives, amplified by Iranian media, emphasized Iran’s asymmetric tactics and their impact on global markets. But beneath the celebratory tone lies a more complicated reality: China sees Iran as a useful junior partner, not an ally worth sacrificing its broader economic interests for.
China’s messaging has not been uniformly supportive. Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed opposition to any action threatening shipping lanes or escalating regional instability.
Iranian media also quoted Beijing calling for a “complete and immediate ceasefire” after Iranian strikes on oil facilities in neighboring states.
That dual messaging—rhetorical support for Tehran combined with warnings against escalation—reflects China’s real priorities.
Beijing’s first concern is the Strait of Hormuz. Although China buys discounted Iranian oil, it depends far more heavily on energy imports from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
When Iran effectively closed the strait earlier this year, Chinese officials were reportedly alarmed by the resulting spike in energy prices and its potential impact on economic growth. For Beijing, disruptions in Hormuz are not ideological matters but direct threats to economic stability.
China’s second expectation is restraint. Despite the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” signed in 2021, Beijing has no interest in being dragged into a direct confrontation between Iran and the United States.
Since April, China has worked with Pakistan to facilitate temporary pauses in fighting, but Chinese officials have also made clear that Beijing will not fight on Iran’s behalf. Mediation, not military alignment, remains the limit of China’s commitment.
The third expectation is stability. China wants Iran strong enough to challenge US influence and remain a reliable sanctioned oil supplier, but not unstable enough to damage Beijing’s broader regional interests or require large-scale economic rescue.
Chinese analysts have increasingly warned that prolonged economic deterioration in Iran could complicate Beijing’s ties with Arab states across the Persian Gulf and undermine its long-term regional strategy.
This balancing act explains why China’s rhetoric has sharpened even as its limits have become clearer.
Beijing is willing to criticize the United States and Israel, support ceasefire diplomacy and pressure Washington politically. But it does not seem prepared to jeopardize its relationships in the region or Western markets to shield Iran from the consequences of a wider war.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.