Given the Trump administration's shift from a military campaign against Iran to primarily one that seeks economic 'strangulation' and isolation - there's been a big diplomatic push by the White House to get regional allies on board.

But the early case remains that reactions from other Gulf allies have so far been muted, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier confirmed that Trump has been phoning world leaders to join him in isolating Iran.

But this is what makes images coming out Monday from a place further to the east so resounding, symbolic, and defiant: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is busy getting the red carpet treatment while attending the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit - the primarily China/Russia founded Eurasian political, economic and international security organization which is now made up of ten member states

The bold defiance in terms of the optics will surely not be missed by Washington:

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also attending the summit, which marks 25 years of its existence.

Also in attendance for the two-day summit which kicked off Monday, and which has already included a Putin-Xi meeting on the sidelines, are the leaders of Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and others.

"Uncertainty grows against the backdrop of unprecedented changes" — China's Xi Jinping tells Vladimir Putin

Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also there, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.