Iran, China continue to strengthen ties, alliance against Jews, Israel, Jew S A

Apollonian

Guest Columnist
In Washington setback, Iran and China sign strategic deal

March 29, 2021

Link: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/03/29/iran-and-china-sign-historic-trade-and-security-deal/

Written by
Amir Handjani

The recent economic and security cooperation agreement signed by Iran and China will have far reaching consequences for geopolitics in the Middle East. For certain, U.S.-led effort to contain Iran regionally and strangle it financially surely pushed both countries in this direction.

The deal gives Tehran a vital, if fickle, partner to help withstand economic sanctions imposed since the Trump administration exited the nuclear deal in 2018. Iran’s economy has steadily contracted since then. Foreign direct investment has plummeted with Tehran having fewer takers of its oil —save for China, which has steadily increased its imports over the last year.

For Beijing, the deal marks an important hedge in its relationship with oil-producing Persian Gulf states, which are long-standing U.S. security partners. While the terms of the deal have yet to be released, it purports to provide a steady and stable flow of Iranian oil to China in return for much needed investments in Iran’s critical infrastructure — from ports to high-speed rail, to energy and petrochemicals. If geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington reach a boiling point whereby Arab states are pressured by the United States to choose sides, China can rest assured that Tehran will be a reliable partner.

From Iran’s perspective, the deal positions Tehran’s financial and strategic interests firmly in Asia. It has long been Iran’s wish to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — the Eurasian economic and security alliance led by China and Russia. Tehran’s SCO dream could soon become reality, as Iran features prominently in China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative. Currently, Iran holds observer status. Conversely, the JCPOA’s failure to provide Tehran with the much-needed foreign investment and economic development that it was promised has now hobbled moderate and reformist Iranian officials who sought improved ties with the West to avoid geopolitical overreliance on China and Russia.

The political space for better relations between Washington and Tehran is currently more limited by domestic politics in both countries. While Iran’s preference has always been for European and American technology and investment, it will settle for Chinese instead — with less hassle. Beijing does not make demands on Iran’s domestic politics, regional policies, or missile program, as Brussels and Washington consistently do.

Furthermore China’s policies are not unduly influenced by its other strategic relationships in the Middle East-it acts independently of them. China prefers bilateral ties with autonomous actors that it feels can be reliable in the face of U.S. pressure. That suits Tehran just fine, so long as it can participate in a Yuan-based financial system that does not choke it off from economic development based on the whims of every new occupant of the White House.

Iran’s leadership is committed to absorbing whatever sanctions come their way, and they seem to be adjusting the Iranian economy accordingly. Some in Iran’s political establishment — particularly hardliners — welcome the pain that sanctions have brought onto the economy because it has forced Tehran to diversify away from energy exports, and instead prioritize domestic production and consumption. Their hope is that U.S. sanctions become less impactful over time, as Iran prioritizes both its internal economy and trading with countries that stand in opposition to the American-led financial system. A deal with China (and eventually Russia) would be a logical fulfillment of that hope.

There is some evidence that Tehran’s approach is working. At the turn of the century, oil accounted for 50 percent of Iran’s GDP. Today, it accounts for 15 percent. Proponents of the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign would argue that the Iranian government is poorer as a result — having seen its economy contract over 15 percent since Donald Trump exited the nuclear deal, and sanctions dramatically reducing its oil exports. But “maximum pressure” has not made Iran curtail its regional posture, nor has it made the government cry uncle.

In fact, evidence suggests Iran’s economy is becoming more resilient: the IMF projects Iran’s economy to grow at 3.2 percent in 2021. In his recent Nowruz address to the nation, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei primed the public for more sanctions in the future. Hardliners in Tehran and Washington want the same thing, but for different reasons.

Where does this leave Washington? Advocates of diplomacy hoped the Biden administration would quickly rejoin the nuclear deal, thereby creating the necessary political space in both capitals to discuss other issues of mutual concern. As Iran moves closer to China and Russia, that hope may fade. If hardliners take over the levers of power in Tehran after this summer’s presidential election, expect less of an appetite for such talks. Instead, Tehran will play the long game. It will join other Asian economies who have hitched their wagon to Chinese trade and development, warts, and all. If the West wants to deal with Iran, it could be facing a far more anti-Western negotiating partner than when the JCPOA was negotiated in 2015. Right now, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, are both viewed by the Iranian political establishment as reformers who seek accommodation and not confrontation with Washington.

If we are in a world of great power competition today, this can only be viewed as an own goal by Washington. Much like Asian countries who moved on to form their own trading bloc or join China’s after Washington exited the Transpacific Partnership, Tehran has decided to bet on a country that it believes will surpass the United States in economic and technological superiority. Time will tell if this was a good bet.
 
The Stage Is Being Set For A War Between Israel And Iran To Potentially Begin Before The End Of 2021

By PatriotRising -
August 6, 2021

Link: https://patriotrising.com/the-stage...-to-potentially-begin-before-the-end-of-2021/

war israel iran
The clock has been ticking for a long time, and now Israel is telling us that Iran is “only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon”. The Israelis have always been very clear about the fact that they will never, ever allow the Iranians to get to that point, and so that would appear to leave only 10 weeks remaining to avert a major war in the Middle East. And let us certainly hope that war can be averted, because a major war in the Middle East could easily spark a full-blown global war. U.S. relations with both Russia and China continue to deteriorate very rapidly, and the Biden administration is being very aggressive with both of them.

Most Americans don’t pay much attention to foreign policy these days, and that is because they don’t think that it will ever affect them personally.

But the truth is that what is going on in the Middle East is of the utmost importance. A major war in the Middle East would deeply affect everyone, and right now the stage is being set for one to potentially begin before the end of 2021.

Of course I am not setting any dates and I am not making any predictions. I do not know if the war between Israel and Iran will start this year, next year or some time thereafter. But at some point there will be war. You can take that to the bank.

The Iranians are not going to give up their nuclear program, and the Israelis will never allow them to get to a point where they can produce their own nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was asked a direction question about this, and he responded by saying that “Israel is ready to attack Iran”…

“Israel is ready to attack Iran, yes,” Gantz told Ynet on Thursday.

“We are at a point where we need to take military action against Iran. The world needs to take action against Iran now,” he added according to a translation of his comments tweeted by Ynet journalist Attila Somfalvi.

In case there was any confusion about this, Gantz gave us even more to chew on during remarks that he made to diplomats from UNSC members…

“Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the JCPOA and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon,” Gantz told ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

“Now is the time for deeds – words are not enough,” he added. “It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue.”

10 weeks from now would put us in the second half of October.

Let us hope that something changes between now and then.

It is always possible that Gantz is simply attempting to intimidate Iran and that an actual attack is not actively being considered.

Bulk Ammo for Sale at Lucky Gunner
Because otherwise what Gantz is doing does not make any sense at all.

If I was in his shoes, there is no way in the world that I would telegraph a potential attack.

If you are going to launch a major assault on another nation, you don’t tell them in advance that it is coming.

Of course the Iranians certainly appear to be doing their part to raise tensions in the region. There have been two more “mysterious tanker attacks” within the past seven days, and both of them are being blamed on Iran…

Two tanker attack incidents within the span of less than a week are now being blamed by the US, UK, and Israel on Iran. First there was last Thursday’s Mercer Street tanker drone attack which left two British and Romanian crew members dead, and then on Tuesday there was the hijacking on the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess – boarded by a half dozen armed Iranian militants.

Since the Israeli-managed Mercer came under assault, Israeli leaders have been openly proposing military action to allies, saying it may be needed to stop the Iranian attacks. Israel says it has provided allies like the United States with “hard evidence” that Tehran was indeed behind the drone attack in the Arabian Sea.

In the aftermath of the most recent attack, the Israelis have even gone so far as to name the specific Iranian military leaders that were involved…

Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid named on Wednesday the Iranian commanders they said were behind last week’s attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.

“Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s Air Force, is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles,” Gantz told envoys from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “For the first time ever, I will also expose the man who is directly responsible for the launch of suicide UAVs — his name is Saeed Ara Jani and he is the head of the IRGC’s UAV command.”

The Iranians had become accustomed to getting away with certain things, but now Naftali Bennett is in power.

Bennett is younger and more aggressive than former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When Bennett served in Netanyahu’s cabinet, he was often frustrated by Netanyahu’s unwillingness to take more aggressive action against Israel’s enemies.

Now it is Bennett’s turn to run the show, and he certainly sounds like a man that is thinking about war…

“We would like the world to understand that the Iranian regime is violent and fanatical,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said last month. “It selected the ‘Hangman of Tehran’ as its president — a man who is willing to starve his own people for years in order to have a military nuclear program. That is a regime that one should not do business with.”

Bennett added that Israel “will continue to consult with our friends, persuade, discuss, and share information and insights out of mutual respect. But at the end of the day, we will be responsible for our own fate, nobody else.”

Those are ominous words.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to do more things to upset China. For example, the Biden administration just approved a major arms sale to Taiwan…

After a series of US-backed arms sales packages to Taiwan during Trump’s last year in office, severely ratcheting tensions to where they are now, President Biden’s administration on Wednesday approved its first arms sale to the island claimed by China.

Bloomberg is describing the potential $750 million deal as including 40 new M109 self-propelled howitzers, essentially a highly maneuverable tank-like military vehicle with a giant gun, and some 1,700 kits designed to convert projectiles into more precise GPS-guided munitions.

Approving that arms sale is one of the rare times when the Biden administration has actually done something right, but without a doubt it will greatly enrage the Chinese.

Thankfully, the U.S. and China are not currently on the verge of military conflict, but we are steadily moving in that direction.

And just like with Israel and Iran, at some point the clock will run out and a day of reckoning will arrive.
 

Israel’s Mossad Chief Vows to Continue Covert Attacks Inside Iran​

Link: https://news.antiwar.com/2022/09/12...-vows-to-continue-covert-attacks-inside-iran/

Barnea says the attacks will continue even if the Iran nuclear deal is restoredby Dave DeCamp Posted onSeptember 12, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsIran, Israel
David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, said Monday that Israeli covert attacks inside Iran will continue regardless of whether or not the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, is restored.
“Even if a nuclear deal is signed it will not give Iran immunity from the Mossad operations,” Barnea said, according to The Cradle. “We won’t take part in this charade and we don’t close our eyes to the proven truth.”
Israel has a long history of carrying out covert attacks inside Iran. Most recently, Israel is suspected of being behind a string of mysterious deaths that happened inside Iran this past Spring.
Israel never officially acknowledges its assassinations or attacks inside Iran, but its involvement in these operations is usually revealed in leaks to the media. US officials recently told CNN that Israel was responsible for killing Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a colonel in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was gunned down in Tehran at the end of May.
Responding to Barnea’s threat, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “We do not expect a terrorist regime [to do] anything other than terrorist actions.”
Barnea’s comments came after he visited Washington last week, where he met with a series of high-level US officials to work against a potential revival of the nuclear deal, which is seeming more and more unlikely.
Barnea and other Israeli officials say force must be used against Iran to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But Tehran often responds to Israel’s covert attacks by increasing the activity of its civilian nuclear program, steps Israel then points to as evidence Iran is working toward a bomb.
 
Back
Top