Iran says Trump's letter will be delivered via UAE

Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the meeting, the ministry confirmed during a regular press conference.

While details of the agenda were not immediately disclosed, the Beijing meeting is expected to focus on potential avenues for reviving diplomatic efforts as the Trump administration has demanded talks for a new deal that would permanently block Tehran's ability to produce nuclear weapons.

The announcement follows remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that Russia has discussed the situation surrounding Iran's nuclear deal with the United States and maintains some contact with European nations on the issue.

"We discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf. We discussed the joint comprehensive action program on the Iran nuclear issue. We are in favor of restoring the original program from which the Americans dropped during the first Trump government. There are some contacts on the European side," Lavrov said, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

"What is worrying is that there are some indications that the Americans would like this new deal to be accompanied by political conditions, insisting that there should be some verifiable arrangement for Iran not to support groups in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Syria, anywhere, which I don't think is going to fly," he added.

He said Russia would be in favor of resuming the format which developed the original JCPOA deal endorsed by the Security Council, though recently, the UN's nuclear chief said it was "an empty shell", with little hope of its revival.

Russia and China have close ties with Iran and were signatories of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement which US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018 before imposing heavy sanctions on Tehran.

As Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West intensifies, Russia has positioned itself as a key diplomatic actor, proposing talks with Washington.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met with Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali last week to discuss international efforts to resolve issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

Moscow has agreed to assist the US in communicating with Iran on various issues, including its nuclear program and support for regional anti-US proxies, according to a Bloomberg report.

Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also quoted by Iranian domestic media on Wednesday confirming that the trilateral meeting between Iran, China, and Russia at the level of deputy foreign ministers will be held this Friday in Beijing, focusing on developments related to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.

According to Baghaei, discussions will also cover other topics of interest such as trade and economy.

“My sister, Leila Pashaei, was arrested a few days after giving a speech on March 8, International Women’s Day, where she stood alongside many brave Kurdish women to speak about women’s rights and equality,” Pashaei told Iran International.

“Security forces raided her home, arrested her, and took her to Sanandaj prison. She has been charged with ‘acting against national security.’ But all she did was speak out peacefully for basic human rights—for women to live free from discrimination and oppression.”

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Pashaei criticized the Iranian government’s restrictions on women, saying, “Speaking for equality is not a threat to national security. It is a rightful demand.”

He added that the real threat to Iran’s security comes from the government’s policies, including its nuclear ambitions and financial support for foreign armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

“The Islamic Republic has isolated Iran from the world, spent billions of dollars on nuclear programs that have brought heavy sanctions, and continues to support terrorist organizations,” he said. “These actions have put the safety and future of Iran and its people at risk.”

Referring to the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement that began after the death of a young woman name Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in 2022, Pashaei said the fight for justice would not be silenced.

“Arresting my sister and other courageous women will not stop this movement. Iranian women and people will keep standing up until they achieve democracy, equality, and freedom—for themselves and for future generations.”

Leila Pashaei was also detained during the Women, Life, Freedom protests and, according to her brother, was jailed for four weeks.

Their other brother Saman was also detained by the Iranian agents in September.

Mahsa Amini’s death ignited Iran’s longest protest movement in four decades, which evolved into an anti-government uprising amid a violent crackdown. Over 500 people were killed and thousands arrested.

"What (Trump) did to that Zelensky is truly shameful," the relative moderate president said, referring to an oval office scrap between Trump and the Ukrainian president - Washington's erstwhile wartime partner.

Iranian officials have cited the blowup as a sign of the United States' fickleness and bullying on the world stage. Tehran has resisted Trump's overtures for a new deal over its nuclear program and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ruled out talks.

"It is unacceptable to say, ‘We give orders to do this (or) not to do that," Pezeshkian said. "I will not come to (negotiate with you). Do whatever the hell you want!"

Faced with deepening economic malaise wrought by US-led sanctions, Pezeshkian had repeatedly advocated for talks with Washington to chip away at Iran's isolation and mitigate deepening financial pain which threatens unrest.

Khamenei, Iran's top decision-maker, has repeatedly rejected the notion after insisting the United States cannot be trusted.

Hardliners orchestrated the ouster of two moderate members of Pezeshkian's cabinet, hamstringing his economic and diplomatic agenda and leading some commentators to predict his resignation.

Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but the UN's nuclear watchdog last week pointed to a sharp rise in Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The United States and European Union said Iran's activities serve no credible civilian purpose and demanded it immediately desist.

The latest to be affected is Golsa Rahim-Zamani, an Iranian singer known for sharing her performances online.

The Islamic Republic is a theocracy which bans women from singing in public and enforces the Islamic veil or hijab on women.

The social media accounts of two other singers, Rayhaanoo and Parisa Bagheri—who performs under the name Baby Drawgon—have also been taken down, with all content removed.

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This comes as part of a broader effort to limit the visibility of women vocalists, whose performances have been banned in public settings since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The latest wave of restrictions began with the arrest of singer and musician Hiwa Seyfizade on February 27.

According to social media reports, she was performing at a concert in central Tehran when plainclothes security forces interrupted the event and detained her.

Two days later, ISNA news agency reported that Seyfizade had been released on bail, but it remains unclear which security body was responsible for her arrest.

On March 2, the same day news emerged of her conditional release, Seyfizade’s Instagram page was blocked. The platform displayed a message indicating that the action had been taken by Iran’s cyber police.

A UK-based Iranian activist criticized Meta, the parent company of Instagram, writing on X: “It is truly disappointing that Mosseri, Instagram, and Meta are unable to take action against the Islamic Republic’s activities on Instagram, where it acts as a police force against the people, threatening users and seizing their accounts.”

Prominent Iranian dissident Hossein Ronaghi also responded to the account closures, saying on Telegram, "If we have committed a crime, a security institution must refer us to a court. Before that, they cannot take over our Instagram accounts under the pretext that ‘if you hand over your page, your case will be closed.’”

Despite the official ban, female singers in Iran continue to find ways to share their music—whether in private gatherings, underground performances, or online.

One such artist, Zara Esmaeili, gained widespread attention last year when a video of her singing Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black went viral. However, shortly after the video gained traction in July, Esmaeili was arrested on August 1. Since then, no further updates have emerged regarding her fate, raising concerns among women's rights advocates. Her Instagram account was also deleted after she was arrested.

The suppression of female singers is not something new in the Islamic Republic. In December, authorities detained Parasto Ahmadi and her band after they staged a performance at a caravanserai without adhering to Iran’s mandatory hijab rules.

The restrictions on female artists have escalated since the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death in custody in 2022 over hijab, as many female performers supported the demonstrations. Several have been arrested or barred from professional activities.

Artistic defiance has become a hallmark of Iran’s protest movements, with musicians such as Shervin Hajipour, Saman Yasin, and Toomaj Salehi facing arrest for their roles in mobilizing dissent.

High Representative Kaja Kallas's remarks signal an important policy statement by the bloc after Washington and Tehran jousted over whether the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from which Trump withdrew in his first term can be a basis for a renewed agreement.

"The constant expansion of Iran’s nuclear programme fully contradicts Iran’s own commitments as endorsed by the Security Council," Kallas said at a United Nations Security Council session on EU-UN cooperation.

"At the same time, a multilateral approach, like the JCPOA was, is key. There is no sustainable alternative to a diplomatic solution."

Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but the UN's nuclear watchdog last week pointed to a sharp rise in Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The United States and European Union said Iran's activities serve no credible civilian purpose and demanded it immediately desist.

Trump said on Thursday that Tehran would need to ditch a nuclear program much of the West views as a precursor to building nuclear weapons or face military force.

The hawkish US president has not specified whether the JCPOA, from which he withdrew in his first term after bashing it as too lenient, would be the basis of the talks or whether he sought any international buy-in for a new deal.

Rejecting the idea of a renewed agreement, the Revolutionary Guards' Tasnim news agency said a deal already existed in the form of the JCPOA.

Iran's ally Russia has said it is willing to mediate and Moscow's envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday that the JCPOA remains the essential foundation for any future negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Kallas went on to criticize Iran's aid to Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia has brought others – North Korea, Iran – to support its colonial battle too."

"Iran’s military support to Russia, including the delivery of ballistic missiles, is a major threat to international security," she added.