Impact of China-Iran Strategic Partnership / the last nail in the coffin of America in the region

China and Iran have finally signed a 25-year agreement on bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart Jawad Zarif signed the agreement in Tehran. Under the agreement, China and Iran will cooperate in various fields, including trade, energy, security and infrastructure. China will invest more than 400 billion in Iran over the next 25 years; in return, Iran will supply China cheap crude oil. The two countries will also cooperate in the security sector, and exchange intelligence.

First, let us look at the effects of this agreement on Iran. The Trump administration, along with Israel and Saudi Arabia, had adopted a strategy of ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran, which is also being pursued by the Biden administration. The main goal is to isolate Iran politically and economically and overthrow the Islamic Revolutionary Government there. The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal between the United States, Iran and the world powers and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. U.S. also threatened countries and companies trading with Iran with dire consequences. Major buyers of Iranian oil, such as India and Japan, stopped buying oil from Iran. European companies shut down projects in Iran for fear of US sanctions.

The United States has managed to stifle the Iranian economy in its own right, but these sanctions have pushed the Iranian economy toward self-sufficiency. Iran quicken efforts on forming new alliances in the East and adopted the concept of resistance economy. The recent Iran-China Strategic Partnership will deal a severe blow to U.S. efforts to isolate Iran. The partnership between China and Iran will revive the sanctioned-hit Iranian economy, which is on a journey of self-reliance. With Chinese investment in various sectors, including energy, infrastructure and banking, Iran will be relieved of the negative effects of US sanctions. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Government will be stronger and pro-US and pro-Western forces inside Iran will be weaken. With a strong economy, Iran will be able to pursue its peaceful nuclear and missile programs successfully. Economically strong and free from the effects of US economic sanctions, Iran will be in a position to better assist its allies in every region, including the Middle East.

China will reap many benefits from its partnership with Iran. Under the agreement, Iran will supply cheap oil to China at discounted prices. China is the largest buyer of crude oil in the world. It buys 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day, valued at more than 215 billion dollars a year. The agreement with Iran will enable it to continue to get uninterrupted supply of cheap crude oil, which will guarantee the smooth running of its fast-growing economy.

The Middle East is a very important region for China, where the current Iranian influence will help China compete with the United States. China has been trying to harm US interests by establishing better relations with Arab countries. Under the agreement, China and Iran will cooperate in the areas of security and intelligence. Iran and its allies have extensive experience in countering US domination in the Middle East. China attaches great importance to Iran's influence in the Middle East. Military and intelligence cooperation in the field of security between the two countries will seriously harm US interests in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The Iran-China deal will also have a profound effect on the Middle East, increasing China's influence, while hurting US, Israeli and Saudi interests. The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia want to curb Iran's peaceful nuclear program, missile technology and Iran's influence in the Middle East through economic & political pressure. Israel and Saudi Arabia want Iran to stop helping organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Yemen’s Ansarullah. A strong Iranian economy and partnership with China will further strengthen Iran's revolutionary policy of helping the oppressed. Iran will be able to help the nations fighting the colonial powers with renewed vigor.

Israel considers Iran's peaceful nuclear and missile programs a threat to its national security and has been putting all possible pressure on Iran to force it abandon those programs. A strong Iranian economy guarantees the continuation of these programs. This will surely make Israel feel more insecure forcing it to abandon its policy of aggression and adopt a defensive strategy.

The United States did its best to subvert the Iran-China strategic partnership. It put pressure on China and threatened sanctions on Chinese companies in the event of an agreement with Iran. In July last year, when the deal was in its final stages, the New York Times leaked a draft of the agreement. To derail the agreement, the United States attempted to create internal pressure on Iranian government.

However, the United States failed. Rejecting pressure and unjust U.S. demands, China signed the 25-year strategic deal with Iran. As a result, the US strategy of maximizing pressure and isolating Iran completely failed. The China-Iran Strategic Partnership is a great failure of the United States and a great achievement of Iran. It would not be out of place to call it the last nail in the coffin of America in the region.

The writer is a journalist & analyst working at the International Desk of a news channel. He tweets at @kashifaliraza & can be reached at meetkashi514@gmail.com