By Parisa Hafezi (Reuters) -For Iran's clerical leaders, engaging with the "Great Satan" to hammer out a nuclear deal and ease crippling sanctions may for once be the lesser of two evils. Though it harbours deep mistrust of the United States,

China, Iran and Russia called for diplomacy over “pressure and threats” and an end to “all illegal unilateral sanctions” following talks on Tehran’s nuclear program Friday in Beijing, Chinese state media said.

China and Russia joined Iran in denouncing US sanctions and backed efforts to restore a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran that President Donald Trump abandoned in his first term and now wants to replace.

Senior Chinese and Russian diplomats said dialogue should only resume based on "mutual respect" and all sanctions ought to be lifted.

The US president says he has proposed talks on a deal to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and to avert military action.

It was Iran's weak economy that pushed Khamenei to give tentative backing to the nuclear agreement struck with major powers in 2015, leading to a lifting of Western sanctions and