China's pro-Russia stance is coming to end — diplomat

Volodymyr Ohryzko, diplomat and head of the Center for Russian Studies, stated this on Espreso TV.

"If the ayatollah regime falls in Iran, Beijing will understand that the time when China took an openly pro-Russian position is coming to an end. Because everyone in the world wants to be with winners, not with losers. And the fact that Putin is a loser is already known and clear not only to Global South countries, but I think increasingly clear in China as well," Ohryzko noted.

The diplomat added that for now, China is helping Russia maintain balance.

"But if China realizes that one way or another Russia will be finished off - and God willing, may this happen as quickly as possible - then China will traditionally change its position and negotiate with Trump on dividing Russia into parts. And I think that would be the right decision," Ohryzko emphasized.

Winter protests in Iran: key facts

Street demonstrations erupted in Iran before the New Year, on December 28, 2025, when the national currency, the rial, crashed sharply and, as a result, prices skyrocketed, and merchants in Tehran closed their shops. Instead of dialogue, the authorities chose to suppress the protests, which spawned the most massive and radical protest movement within the country since the beginning of the 21st century.

The economy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is under sanctions due to its support of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, and other terrorist forces and organizations. Additionally, the country is isolated from the rest of the world by strict laws based on orthodox Shiism.

The internet has been shut down in the country and strict censorship is in effect, making it currently impossible to determine the number of casualties - though there are already some on both sides of the confrontation.

Human rights defenders and opposition media believe that at least 2,000 civilians died in the first two weeks of protests in Iran.

The protesting Iranian masses are inspired and directed through available technical means by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who currently resides in the U.S. The current dictatorial regime of Islamic fundamentalists came to power in 1979 when Reza Pahlavi's father was overthrown. After that, the country abandoned its pro-Western secular political course, liberal reforms, and modern European views on women, appearance, behavior, public morality, and so on.

The current Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, according to political analysts, is a purely formal head of state. Real power there belongs to the so-called Supreme Leader, 86-year-old Islamic theologian Ali Khamenei, who has continuously ruled Iran since 1989 - that is, for 37 years now. During the USSR era, Khamenei studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University, where the CPSU and KGB trained foreign agents of influence.

On January 11, Masoud Pezeshkian announced an alleged readiness to discuss the country's economic problems and called on Iranians not to support protest actions, which, in his opinion, are backed by external forces.