Iran International
Iran is increasingly looking to China not just as an economic partner, but as the only major power capable of offering credible guarantees in both the Persian Gulf and any future agreement between Tehran and Washington.
On May 10, Iran’s ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, said Beijing could serve as the guarantor of a future deal between Iran and major world powers. He added that any agreement should ultimately be endorsed by the UN Security Council, echoing Tehran’s long-standing preference for multilateral guarantees over bilateral commitments.
A day later, Rahmani Fazli wrote on X that Iran was prepared to support President Xi Jinping’s four-point proposal for “sustainable security” in the Persian Gulf, adding that the position had already been affirmed during recent talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers.
China’s approach to emphasizes mutual guarantees among regional states, with Beijing presenting itself as a mediator and economic stabilizer rather than a military enforcer.
In mid-April, Xi introduced a four-point proposal aimed at moving the region away from the brink of wider war toward what Chinese officials described as a “comprehensive and sustainable security architecture.”
The proposal called for peaceful coexistence among regional powers, respect for sovereignty, adherence to international law and the UN Charter, and balancing security with economic development and reconstruction.
Chinese diplomacy surrounding the Iran crisis has increasingly been framed in Tehran as an alternative to Washington’s military-first approach.
Iranian media and officials have portrayed Beijing as a power capable of maintaining relations with all sides while avoiding direct military involvement.
Tehran and Beijing have both linked these initiatives to their expanding strategic partnership, which Iranian officials increasingly describe as a counterweight to US influence in the region.
Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China has added new significance to that relationship as ceasefire tensions persist and negotiations remain stalled.
Hossein Mousavian, Iran’s former ambassador to Germany, recently reiterated that security guarantees remain one of Tehran’s central demands in any negotiations with Washington.
Iranian commentators argue that while Tehran does not trust the Trump administration to uphold a purely bilateral agreement, Chinese involvement could provide a framework both sides may find harder to abandon.
Still, major obstacles remain.
Trump has repeatedly rejected any agreement resembling the 2015 nuclear deal, arguing that it failed to protect US interests. Iran, meanwhile, continues to push for a broader truce framework without first resolving disputes over its nuclear program, a position unlikely to gain traction in Washington.
Tensions escalated further on May 12, when Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran was prepared for war if Trump rejected Tehran’s terms. The same day, Trump said military options remained on the table.
Against that backdrop, Beijing has increasingly signaled that its immediate priority is preventing further disruption in the Persian Gulf and ensuring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy markets.
For Tehran, China’s growing diplomatic role offers more than mediation. It represents the possibility of a powerful external guarantor at a time when trust between Iran and the United States appears close to collapse.
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.