At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The gathering comes as the United States increases pressure on countries and companies to stop doing business with Iran, warning of potential exclusion from the dollar-based financial system.

While China continues to buy most of Iran's oil without facing penalties, several Indian firms have been sanctioned by Washington over alleged trade in Iranian energy products.

Charles Kupchan, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, speaks to DW about the limits of economic pressure in an increasingly multipolar world.