September 16, 2022: -Iran will need sanctions to be lifted if it wishes to strengthen economic ties with China, which can only come with a successful nuclear deal, according to an analyst.

Iran, which has business dealings with China, faces a slew of U.S. that’s devastated its economy.

On Thursday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is anticipated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan.

It comes as the Islamic Republic is preparing to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security group of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian countries.

Iran currently holds look status in the SCO but is due to become a full-fledged member at the further summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan.

Iran’s bid to become a member of the SCO doesn’t indicate Tehran will enjoy a smooth economic relationship with China, Ali Ahmadi, an executive at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, told CNBC Tuesday.

“It’s not going to mean that Iran does not need the sanctions relief,” Ahmadi said. “Iran sells a few oils to China, but the relationship between the two is very much one-dimensional.”

In mid-2018, the U.S. retreated from the nuclear deal formally referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

Since then, Washington has put sanctions on Iran, which crushed its economy. The U.S. sanctions extend to the firm doing business with Iran and prohibit all imports from Iran, among other embargoes.

“For that relationship to grow, you are expecting sanctions relief as a lot of companies, even state-owned enterprises in China, don’t have the appetite for sanctions risks,” Ahmadi added.

Earlier this month, the U.S imposed sanctions on a Chinese company that helped sell Iranian oil.