World leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are gathering in the Chinese port city of Tianjin this weekend for the 25th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). For Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, the summit is a critical opportunity to rally support as Tehran faces the imminent return of punishing UN sanctions amid mounting Western pressure over its nuclear program.
As reported by Al Monitor, the Islamic Republic is looking to the significant Eurasian bloc to signal that it is not isolated on the world stage. The summit's urgency is underscored by a move on Thursday by Britain, France, and Germany to trigger the UN Security Council's "snapback" mechanism. This step marks the beginning of a 30-day countdown to the likely reinstatement of international sanctions against Tehran.
Iran's key partners swiftly condemned the European decision. Russia's foreign ministry denounced the action and blamed Western powers for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. In a briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the move "is not constructive and will undermine the process of a political and diplomatic settlement."
In the weeks leading up to the snapback activation, Tehran engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity with Moscow and Beijing, with foreign and defense ministers holding a series of meetings and calls. While Russia and China can offer vocal support, their power to stop the sanctions is limited. The snapback process is designed so that if the Security Council fails to pass a resolution to extend sanctions relief, the pre-2015 UN measures are automatically reimposed, a process that a permanent member of the Security Council cannot veto.
The high-stakes diplomatic backdrop sets the stage for a summit that will draw a wide slate of leaders. Alongside host President Xi Jinping of China, attendees include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making his first visit to China since 2018, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The SCO, founded in 2001 as a security-focused bloc, has since expanded to include economic and political cooperation. With the inclusion of India, Pakistan, and Iran—which became a full member in 2023—the organization now represents nearly half the world's population.
For Beijing, hosting the summit is a significant demonstration of diplomatic power and a testament to the SCO's evolution into one of the world's largest multilateral blocs. The gathering serves as an essential stage for China to project influence and signal unity, a particularly vital task as it navigates ongoing trade negotiations with the United States. The diplomatic flurry will continue into next week, when Beijing will host a major Victory Day parade commemorating Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, with both President Pezeshkian and President Putin expected to attend alongside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
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