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‘Iran-China deal geopolitical win against common opponent – US’

Monday, 20 July 2020 2:59 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 July 2020 2:59 PM ]

Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran

As Iran and China are moving ahead with a strategic partnership deal, the two sides are yet to disclose its details.

What has so far been made public is that the 25-year cooperation roadmap will cover economy, security and military areas.

There are reports that the pact would see Iran supply China with oil for 25 years. In return, China would invest in Iran’s ports as well as banking and telecommunications sectors, which amount to some 400 billion dollars.

The deal has sparked mixed reactions inside and outside Iran.

Here in Tehran, some say Iran is negotiating such a pact from the position of weakness and as an escape route from the ailing nuclear deal.

The supporters of the Sino-Iranian deal, however, call it a geopolitical win against a common opponent – the United States.

Washington has been engaged in a trade war with China for a long time.

The Trump administration also re-imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil after it withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Now any partnership between Beijing and Tehran is viewed as a sharp edge for both countries to push the US aside.

It remains unclear when such a deal will be formally clinched. But Iran’s government says the two sides have so far finalized at least 75 percent of the draft version of the pact.

Once concluded, the text of the deal will be discussed for final approval in Iran’s Parliament. However, many lawmakers are already critical of the government for not consulting the deal before entering into negotiations with China.

While everyone in Iran is waiting to learn about the details of the Iran-China pact, comments such as Iran selling its soil to China are heard on the grapevine. However, the government has made two things clear: the first is that Iran will not cede even a handspan of its soil to China, and the second is the strategic deal will shield Iran's economy from any intervention by the US.

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