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China is showing growing unease over the economic and strategic costs of Iran’s confrontation with the United States, even as it continues to shield Tehran diplomatically at the United Nations.

Tehran media coverage of the impasse with Washington following President Donald Trump’s visit to China points to growing frustration, with many insiders voicing concern that diplomacy has stalled and more confrontation may lie ahead.

The Iran war has entered a more ambiguous phase, with the regime battered but not broken, the US struggling to define victory, and the Strait of Hormuz emerging as Iran’s most potent bargaining tool, two Middle East experts said at an Iran International townhall in Washington DC.

A trial date has been set for three defendants charged over an alleged arson incident near Iran International’s studios in northwest London, with the case scheduled to begin on January 25, 2027, at the Central Criminal Court.

Fuel shortages and tighter rationing are pushing drivers across Iran into a growing gasoline black market, with citizens describing long lines at gas stations and sharply inflated prices in messages sent to Iran International.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the creation of a special committee to end Iran’s internet blackout, but many Iranians doubt it can overcome resistance from powerful state institutions.

Tehran commentariat and figures close to the establishment are increasingly accusing hardliners and state television of deepening divisions and undermining national unity as the country faces war, economic strain and growing public anxiety.

A series of overnight earthquakes and a powerful dust storm rattled Tehran and nearby cities on Tuesday night, reviving fears of a catastrophic earthquake in a capital still psychologically scarred by recent war.

President Trump’s visit to Beijing appears to have confirmed two things about China’s approach to the Iran crisis: it is willing to help prevent further escalation, but not at Tehran’s expense.

Iran's parliament is reviewing a bill that requires the government to pay €50 million to any individual or entity that kills US President Donald Trump in retaliation for the killing of Iran's leader and commanders, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday.

More Iranians are moving back in with family or taking on roommates after losing jobs and struggling to keep up with rising rents in major cities, according to messages sent to Iran International.

Countries should pay Iran annual fees for fiber-optic cables that pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian lawmaker said, saying that hundreds of billions of dollars in financial transactions move through the lines each day.

Iran’s foreign minister accused the United Arab Emirates on Thursday of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, escalating Tehran’s criticism of regional states during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi.

Iran sought to rally BRICS countries against US and Israeli military action on Thursday, casting the regional conflict as resistance to American power as concerns over maritime security and energy disruption dominated the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.

Security forces in Najafabad, a major city in Isfahan province in central Iran, implemented deliberate power outages on January 8 and 9 to facilitate a lethal crackdown on protesters.

Parham Mehrabi, 18, was killed by direct fire from security forces in Mashhad on January 8, 2026, while standing alongside his father, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Iranian former diplomats and political analysts struck a pessimistic tone in Wednesday’s media ahead of Donald Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, warning of renewed escalation and portraying China as central to any Iran-US settlement.

A series of tremors in and around Tehran late Tuesday stirred shock, dark humor and political despair among residents, with some initially mistaking them for renewed US-Israeli strikes.

Ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing, Iranian officials rejected suggestions that US pressure could weaken Iran-China ties amid growing speculation over a possible Chinese mediation role in the Iran conflict.

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.

Alghadir hospital in east Tehran is one of the places where the January massacre could be seen in full: a five-body morgue overflowing, blood on the floors, and families searching through blankets and body covers for the people they loved.