China Is Now Goading Iran into Attacking Israel
by Gordon G. Chang • August 14, 2024 at 5:00 am
As countries around the world pressure Iran not to strike Israel — Tehran blames the Jewish state for the bomb that killed Haniyeh on July 31 — China was, in effect, publicly goading Iran to act.
Hamas is a proxy of Iran. Iran's regime believes that it is no one's proxy, but the Chinese seem to think that Iran is indeed theirs.
First, there is Beijing's direct economic lifeline to the ailing Iranian economy.
Beijing also provided diplomatic cover for the assault on Israel. Propaganda support may have been even more important: Some 96.5% of the videos on Hamas carried on the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok support the terrorist group. China's Communist Party uses that platform to amplify favored narratives.
[T]he [Gulf] region is now especially concerned about the flood of Chinese weapons into the hands of Iran and its terrorist proxies. Regional leaders should be: All three of Iran's main proxy groups—Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis — fight with Chinese arms.
China's President Xi Jinping, apparently adopting the views of Mao Zedong, has been promoting "chaos" to pave the way for worldwide Chinese rule. Wang Yi in his call on the 11th to Tehran made a bold chaos move.
China, from all indications, wants more war in the world's most war-torn region.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 11 told Iran's acting foreign minister that Beijing supports the Islamic Republic defending its "sovereignty, security, and national dignity." Wang said that killing Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh, the terrorist group's political leader, in Tehran violated Iran's sovereignty and threatened regional stability.
As countries around the world pressure Iran not to strike Israel — Tehran blames the Jewish state for the bomb that killed Haniyeh on July 31 — China was, in effect, publicly goading Iran to act.
Why would the Chinese foreign minister do that? Perhaps because Beijing believes that its proxy, Iran, is losing a war and has to act fast.
Hamas is a proxy of Iran. Iran's regime believes that it is no one's proxy, but the Chinese seem to think that Iran is indeed theirs.
Whether Iran is China's claw or not, Tehran could not have launched the October 7 war without the direct and indirect support of the Chinese state.
