On Saturday, Hot Air posted an article reporting that China and Iran have officially announced a 25-year “cooperation agreement”. So what does this mean? Unfortunately, it probably means that Iran is now going to take a significant shortcut in its development of nuclear weapons. When you understand one of the basic tenets of Islam regarding the Mahdi, this is frightening. Many Muslims believe that chaos will hasten the return of the Mahdi (their messianic figure who will bring peace, stability, and sharia to the world). Therefore the idea of a nuclear war is not a problem for them–it simply will hasten the arrival of paradise. Do we really want to do anything to allow people with that philosophy to have nuclear weapons?
The article reports:
For a while now, I’ve noted the development of what seems to clearly be turning into the 21st-century version of the Axis of Evil. It’s composed of Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela, and arguably Turkey. All of these repressive governments have been growing increasingly aggressive on the world stage and simultaneously seemed to become increasingly comfortable supporting each other where possible. Two of the members, China and Iran, took the process one step further this week, announcing a 25-year “cooperation agreement” between Beijing and Tehran. During the same announcement, China formally reiterated its opposition to the United States and international sanctions against Iran. They also blamed Washington for the collapse of talks aimed at restarting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and expressed their support for putting the deal in place. So just in case you were wondering which side the Chinese Communist Party is taking in all of this international drama, they’ve made it pretty clear at this point. (Reuters)
On January 15th, Reuters reported:
China and Iran, both subject to U.S. sanctions, signed the 25-year cooperation agreement last March, bringing Iran into China’ Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure scheme intended to stretch from East Asia to Europe. read more
The project aims to significantly expand China’s economic and political influence, and has raised concerns in the United States and elsewhere. read more
The foreign ministry summary said the agreement would deepen Sino-Iranian cooperation in areas including energy, infrastructure, agriculture, health care and culture, as well as cyber security and cooperation with other countries.
Iran and the U.S. remain locked in talks over whether a compromise can be found to renew the deal and dispel fears of a wider Middle East War. A source close to negotiations said on Friday that many issues remain unresolved. read more
Wang, who earlier in the week met with several counterparts from Gulf Arab countries concerned about the potential threat from Iran, also said China hopes to set up a dialogue mechanism with Gulf countries to discuss regional security issues.
Aside from the dangers of a nuclear Iran this alliance creates, it is also an indication of America’s worldwide influence under President Biden. We need to quickly move to electing leaders who are respected around the world and capable of diplomacy that represents the interests of America.