Weeks after his country was battered by waves of Israeli strikes and the US bombed three of its prized nuclear facilities, Iran’s foreign minister came to a gathering of regional diplomats in China this week with a simple ask.

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

Russia sought to do this naval drill primarily to show it is still interested in joint cooperation with Iran. Iran and Russia began a naval exercise on Monday.

China’s purchases of Iranian crude rose in June to the highest since March’s record levels, in part because of speedier loadings as sellers sought to avoid getting tangled in the country’s conflict with Israel,

Iran's foreign minister visits China after Israel conflict, highlighting efforts to deepen ties amid regional and U.S. tensions.

Iran continues to refuse proposal it join regional consortium for enriched uranium as officials prepare for meetings with Russia, China and European nations amid nuclear tensions

Other countries, including the United States, China, and Russia, were not cited as significant threats by substantial portions of the Israeli public.

Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a U.N. mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a member of Iran's parliamentary national security commission said on Monday,