Asia fears ‘second cold war’ as Donald Trump pushes Iran into Chinese arms
- Washington’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign to limit Iran’s nuclear initiatives is prompting Tehran to pivot to Beijing and Moscow, experts say
- Meanwhile, the US-China trade war is forcing Asian countries to pick sides
Worsening US-Iran tensions are raising fears among Asian countries of Tehran’s pivot to China and Russia, potentially sparking a second cold war, experts at a conference in Singapore said on Tuesday.
Hitoshi Tanaka, Japan’s former deputy minister for foreign affairs, said Washington’s sanctions on Iran would force it to “seek alternative measures to survive”.
The Trump administration has unleashed a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran this year, to force it to limit its nuclear and military initiatives.
“Clearly everyone expects Iran to move to China and Russia,” said Tanaka, the chairman of the Institute for International Strategy at the Japan Research Institute.
“This will create a [very] divisive global government. We are talking about [how] there may be a second cold war.”