China holds reception for International Women's Day

A reception in the run-up to International Women's Day, which falls on March 8, was held in Beijing on Friday.

Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin addressed the event, calling on China's hundreds of millions of women to continue to write new splendid chapters in the new journey of building a great country and moving toward national rejuvenation.

Shen, also president of the All-China Women's Federation, said that China would co-host the Global Summit of Women with UN Women in Beijing this year, adding that the country stands ready to work with all parties to build a better world for all women and all people.

The reception was attended by over 1,000 guests from home and abroad, including diplomatic envoys and representatives of international organizations.

Iran's official news agency IRNA said on Sunday the country has rejected taking part in the second round of the peace talks with the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump said new negotiations would take place in Pakistan on Monday evening.

"My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan -- They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on Sunday.

Trump also said that the U.S. has offered a "fair and reasonable" deal, and if Iran reject the deal, the U.S. will "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran."

Iran's absence from the second round of talks "stems from what it called Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire," IRNA said in a post on its English account on social media platform X.

In another report published in Farsi, IRNA said reports released about the second round of peace talks between Tehran and Washington in Islamabad are "not true."

It described the reports released by the United States as part of a "media game and in line with the blame game" to pressure Iran, stressing that the U.S. "excessive, illogical and unrealistic demands, frequent changing of positions, constant contradictory remarks, continuation of the so-called naval blockade" have so far prevented the negotiations' progress.

IRNA added under the present circumstances, there is "no bright prospect" for fruitful negotiations.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East, and exercising tight control over the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8, which was followed by lengthy talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12. After the peace negotiations in Islamabad collapsed, the United States imposed its own blockade on the waterway.

The Iranian and U.S. delegations were reportedly expected to hold another round of peace talks in Pakistan soon.