Iran-China agreement discreetly aims for geopolitical coup in Middle East

Eslam Mohamed

The agreement that Iran concluded with China constitutes a geopolitical coup in the Middle East region, as the Chinese army, and later the Russian, has the ability to reach the Arab Gulf and counter the US and Western hegemony in the region, which brought US President Joe Biden to express his grave concern over the agreement. Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, told the Jamaran news site, “Biden’s concern is correct. The boom in strategic cooperation in the east is accelerating the decline of the United States. Given their considerations regarding America, the Chinese told us not to publish it. The agreement has a defensive side. Now China and other countries are facing challenges with America, and we cannot talk about them openly.”

The announcement of the military aspect of the agreement was deliberately vague, as Article 16 of the statement published on the official website of President Hassan Rouhani stipulates the following: “The two sides believe that strengthening contacts and exchanges between their armed forces and defense ministries contribute to stability and security, and they will work to increase the exchange of delegations, consultation and coordination at various levels, and raising the level of the armed forces in the two countries through cooperation mechanisms in the fields of training human resources, combating terrorism and exchanging information, as well as equipment and technology.”

Iran is also now seeking to conclude a similar agreement with Russia. In this context, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian parliament, Mojtaba Zonnour, said, “We also want to conclude an agreement with Russia similar to the agreement we concluded with China, which will practically be a roadmap for binding economic cooperation in the long term,” adding that these agreements are an effective option to circumvent the US and European sanctions against Iran, reported the Iranian Mehr news agency.

There is also speculation that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Tehran soon, while Iran and China are conducting joint military exercises, the last of which occurred with Russia in the Indian Ocean. They have also cooperated in intelligence matters for years, and Tehran is believed to have provided Beijing with sensitive information about American drones and spy networks.

The Iranian regime believes that, by virtue of its agreement with China, Iran will enter a new era with guarantees of developing its military and security capabilities at a time when regional countries have complained about Tehran’s armed adventures, as Tehran has run five wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen. Parallel to this, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who singled out Saudi Arabia for a visit, also announced a Chinese peace initiative for the Gulf countries and Iran, based on five proposals, including protecting sea lanes and preventing armed attacks in the Gulf.