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Opinion | Will China lead a Middle East alliance as US-Iran tensions escalate?
- In addition to growing investments in the region, China has proposed to organise a Middle East forum to resolve long-standing problems
- However, past experience shows Beijing might be more concerned about appearing diplomatic than actually advancing a political agenda
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On November 28, top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for the “definitive punishment” of those who perpetrated this crime, which was apparently the result of a complex operation and is being blamed on both the United States and Mossad, Israel’s external security agency.
The assassination came amid mounting US-Iran tensions: in the days leading up to the killing, the US sanctioned five Chinese and Russian firms that it said had promoted Iran’s missile programme.
In a press conference on November 30, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying condemned the killing of Fakhrizadeh, saying it “undermines regional peace and stability”.
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A draft of a 25-year strategic cooperation deal between China and Iran leaked in July, but which Beijing insisted was not a secret, is further evidence that China has a significant economic incentive – and has been quietly preparing itself – to play a larger role in Middle East diplomacy that explicitly rejects US unilateralism abroad.
America’s escalating of tensions with Iran could give China space to get more directly involved in Tehran’s diplomatic affairs.
02:10
Iran vows revenge as it holds funeral for assassinated nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrinzadeh
Iran vows revenge as it holds funeral for assassinated nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrinzadeh
In late October, after meeting his Iranian counterpart Javid Zarif in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a new China-organised Middle East forum that would defuse tensions and “explore political and diplomatic solutions” to Middle East security issues.
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