Can China broker peace for Iran again? 2023 was different, analysts say

Tehran has signalled a willingness for Beijing to act as a mediator in its escalating war against US and Israel 3 -MIN READ3 -MIN Cao Jiaxuanin BeijingandOrange Wang Published: 12:00pm, 20 Mar 2026 As Tehran signalled that Beijing could serve as a diplomatic broker in its intensifying war with the United States and Israel, analysts cautioned that the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement of 2023 could prove “hard to replicate”. They also highlighted the difficulty of Washington accepting third-party mediation, after US President Donald Trump confirmed that a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing would be delayed by “five or…