Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone, in this video we are going [00:02] to talk about the current state of China [00:05] Iran relations and it really matters to [00:09] the headlines. It really matters to [00:11] where we are in this war and what it's [00:13] going to look like going forward. Uh [00:15] right on the table now is the economic [00:18] warfare that the Americans are waging [00:20] against Iran and the question of whether [00:23] or not the Chinese are going to [00:25] participate in it. when Scott Bessant [00:26] announced this uh this economic [00:29] blockade, this economic D-Day uh choking [00:33] off all uh all dealings with Iran by any [00:36] country and threatening them all with [00:38] secondary sanctions. Of course, the [00:39] Chinese said that they would not [00:40] participate in it and uh and then the [00:44] Americans have shot back. Since then [00:45] there's been some statements from [00:46] Bessent and from Trump that China will [00:48] play ball and things are seem to be [00:51] coming to a head in that regard. There's [00:54] also an upcoming meeting soon between [00:57] Xiinping and President Trump. So, we're [00:59] going to unpack all of that in this [01:00] video and see where we are. Let's hit [01:03] the headlines. Here we go. Well, [01:05] actually, to start us off, you see I'm [01:07] wearing my headphones. That means that [01:08] we're going to be watching a little clip [01:09] of a video. Uh, so let's take a look at [01:12] a clip of Vice President J. D. Vance [01:16] from yesterday taking a question about [01:18] China's involvement in the economic [01:20] blockade. Here we go. [01:22] >> Go ahead. Thank you very much. Thank [01:24] Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. [01:26] I want to ask you about the announcement [01:28] made by Secretary Vessent back on August [01:30] the 24th, the economic uh outcast [01:34] operation. Since that time, besides the [01:37] UAE, has any other country joined in [01:41] isolating Iran in that way? And [01:43] secondly, how can that operation be [01:45] successful if you don't have China [01:48] coming on board and isolating Iran? [01:50] Well, first of all, you do have, I [01:53] think, the Chinese, the PRC being [01:55] willing to to play ball here, and and [01:57] and we all know this, and I think it's [01:59] an open secret for anybody who [02:01] understands the People's Republic of [02:03] China. Say what you will about them. And [02:05] of course, we have some policy [02:07] disagreements. The president has a very [02:08] good relationship with President Xi, but [02:10] obviously we have some misalignment of [02:12] interests, some issues where the [02:13] president has to pursue our interests at [02:15] the expense of everybody else. Say what [02:17] you will about them, they are not the [02:19] sort of nation that shoots at commercial [02:21] shipping because they're not getting [02:22] their way in an international dispute. [02:24] They are in that way, I think, willing [02:27] to be a little bit more responsible. [02:29] Again, I'm not saying they're doing [02:30] everything that we've asked them to do, [02:32] but I think that the PRC has been much [02:35] more responsible certainly than the [02:37] Iranians and much more responsible than [02:39] a couple of other nations as well. But [02:41] it's not just the PRC. Uh, if you look [02:43] at Okay, we'll leave it there because [02:46] we're interested in China in this video. [02:48] So, you see what he says there. He says [02:50] the there are indications that the [02:52] Chinese will be playing ball. Okay. [02:56] Well, what does that mean? Well, I think [02:57] we're starting to get an idea of what it [02:59] means by some of the recent moves, some [03:00] of the headlines I'm going to show you [03:02] here. So, here, this is from uh two days [03:05] ago. China sets conditions for Thran [03:08] over Hormuz crisis and US conflict. [03:13] Hussein Marashi, Secretary General of [03:15] the Construction Executives Party, Cargo [03:18] Zaran, described the brief meeting [03:20] between the presidents of Iran and China [03:22] on the sidelines of the Shanghai [03:24] Cooperation Organization summit as a [03:26] signal of friction in Thran Beijing [03:29] relations. So, we're going to get into [03:30] that meeting in a bit. We're going to [03:32] take a look at a few other headlines [03:33] that relate to that meeting. The big [03:35] story is that they had a very brief [03:37] meeting and uh and Xihinping like didn't [03:40] want to get photographed with the [03:42] Iranian president. We'll get into that [03:43] in a bit, but let's get to the key. In [03:45] an interview with Echo Iran, Marashi [03:48] stated that Beijing has communicated [03:51] four conditions to Thran. Reopening the [03:54] Straight of Hormuz, ceasing the [03:56] collection of transit tolls from passing [03:58] vessels, ending disputes with Saudi [04:00] Arabia, and resolving its conflict with [04:03] the United States. In other words, what [04:05] he's saying is that the Chinese have [04:06] laid down the law with the Iranians and [04:08] said, "Knock it off. Cut out all this [04:11] stuff and get back to peaceful relations [04:15] with Saudi Arabia. Resolve the conflict [04:16] with America. Stop the tolls. Stop the [04:18] Straits of Hormuse." Nonsense. Neither [04:20] Chinese nor Islamic Republic officials [04:22] have confirmed these claims to date, and [04:25] no official document or statement [04:27] regarding such conditions has been [04:28] published by Beijing. I don't see why [04:30] there would be any. I wouldn't expect [04:32] there to be. [04:33] Um, and so on to that meeting at the [04:36] SEO, which we'll learn a little bit more [04:38] about. Now, this is from CNBC. China's [04:41] Xi keeps Iranian president at arms [04:43] length weeks ahead of Trump's summit. [04:47] Chinese president Xiinping gave his [04:49] Iranian counterpart Masud Peshan a brief [04:53] lowp profofile brief lowp profofile [04:56] audience at [snorts] a regional security [04:58] summit signaling Beijing's calibrated [05:00] approach toward Thran just weeks ahead [05:03] of Xi's planned trip to Washington. The [05:05] two leaders met for several minutes on [05:07] the sidelines of the Shanghai [05:09] Corporation Organization summit in [05:11] Kyrgystan on Tuesday. According to [05:13] Iranian state media, [05:16] the semiofficial mayor news agency said [05:18] that the Z the Xi Pesrian meeting [05:22] focused on quote bilateral ties in line [05:25] with strengthening relations between [05:27] Tyran and Beijing without offering [05:29] further detail that contra that [05:32] contrasted with Beijing's approach of [05:35] keeping the meeting out of public view. [05:38] In other words, the Iranian state media [05:39] reported the meeting. Uh, Chinese state [05:43] media [05:44] didn't. Chinese state media, including [05:46] the Communist Party's flagship [05:48] newspaper, People's Daily, gave [05:49] extensive coverage to Xi's encounters [05:52] with other visiting leaders on Tuesday, [05:54] but made no mention of the meeting with [05:56] Bzes. See, this is why this is why state [05:59] media from totalitarian regimes is very [06:02] useful. You under you can see where [06:04] they're going politically as you read [06:06] it. Modi, by contrast, published photos [06:09] of his meeting with the Iranian leader. [06:10] Modi from India, he doesn't care, you [06:12] know, even though he doesn't even have [06:13] good relations with these countries. He [06:15] he meets with everybody. [06:17] Quote, Xi is keeping Iran at arms length [06:21] while still maintaining contact [06:23] privately, said Han Shen, managing [06:25] director for Greater China at the Asia [06:27] Group, a Washington-based strategic [06:29] advisory firm. The absence of Xi Poses [06:32] on coverage from state from the state [06:34] newspapers front page reinforces the [06:37] view that Beijing is carefully managing [06:40] optics. Lynn said China is seeking to [06:43] preserve its strategic relationship with [06:44] Thran without signaling that it's siding [06:48] with the country. He said particularly [06:51] ahead of Xi's plan meeting with [06:52] President Trump later this month. The [06:55] caution over Iran comes after Beijing [06:58] found itself the implicit target of a [07:01] broader push at the group of 20 finance [07:03] ministers in Asheville, North Carolina [07:06] on Monday, where Treasury Secretary [07:08] Scott Bessant pressed other members to [07:10] confront what Washington calls China's [07:13] manufacturing over capacity and trade [07:16] surplus. So G is looking at the [07:19] chessboard and saying, "Okay, I just [07:20] said I'm not going to take part in these [07:21] sanctions. The United States has all [07:23] kinds of levers that can make my life [07:25] difficult and it's all what how much is [07:27] this Iran relationship worth to me. [07:30] China and the US are maximizing leverage [07:33] ahead of Xi's visit, said Dan Wang, [07:35] China director at the Eurasia Group, a [07:37] political risk consultancy. Quote, the [07:39] sideline meeting with Iran is a reminder [07:41] of Beijing's influence in the Iran war [07:44] and across the global south. Wang said [07:46] the Iran war will likely dominate the [07:50] agenda at the upcoming Trump Xi summit [07:53] and that any US effort to expand [07:55] secondary sanctions to Chinese banks or [07:57] companies could provoke a firmer [08:00] response from Beijing. So that's so you [08:03] see what's going on here. Now let's see [08:05] how this how this was received in the [08:07] Iranian media and politics. That's what [08:10] we're going to look at here. Xi snub [08:12] reignites Iran's doubts about China. A [08:15] fleeting encounter between uh between [08:17] Peshan and Xiinping in Bishkek and [08:20] Kyrgystan has reignited an uncomfortable [08:23] debate in Thran. Just how strategic is [08:26] Iran's much vaunted partnership with [08:29] Beijing? The optics were particularly [08:31] sensitive where closer ties with China [08:33] and Russia have for years been promoted [08:36] as the cornerstone of a look east [08:39] strategy intended to reduce Iran's [08:40] dependent on the West. Meaning the [08:42] Iranians are always are always promoting [08:44] their wonderful relationship with the [08:46] Russians and the Chinese to show that [08:47] they have these powerful allies. [08:50] Heshmatah Falak fal falat falat pishe a [08:55] former member of parliament's national [08:57] security and foreign policy committee [08:59] said xi's treatment of pesestrian sent a [09:01] message from China to the United States [09:04] amid the war. Quote, Xi's cold reception [09:07] of Peshrion was this eastern vendor's [09:10] message to America amid the war. He [09:13] wrote on X, "What some in Iran called a [09:16] strategic partnership was for China [09:18] nothing more than a superficial [09:20] relationship." Conservative commentator [09:22] Mustafa Nafi described the encounter as [09:25] quote a serious warning and a negative [09:28] signal in Iran China relations. [09:32] He warned that continued ambiguity in [09:34] the relationship could have significant [09:36] consequences for Iranian foreign policy [09:38] at a time when Tehran's international [09:40] options are already limited. And now it [09:43] quotes uh it uh it quotes Hosen Marashi [09:46] again. That's the guy who was quoted in [09:48] the in that first article uh who who [09:51] reported on the demands that China has [09:54] made on the uh on Iran for opening the [09:58] Straits of Hormuz and mending fences [10:01] with Saudi Arabia and stopping charging [10:03] tolls and all that. But look what it [10:04] says here about that same interview. [10:06] Hosen Mashi said in an interview with [10:08] Echo Iran that China had set specific [10:10] conditions for implementing parts of a [10:12] 25-year cooperation agreement and for a [10:15] planned visit to Beijing by parliament [10:16] speaker Mhhammed Bagar Galibbuff. [10:18] Galibbuff was appointed Supreme Leader [10:21] Kamayi's special envoy for China affairs [10:24] in May but has yet to travel to China or [10:27] meet Chinese officials in that capacity. [10:30] The Chinese have told us very clearly, [10:32] you open the straight of Hormuz, you [10:33] don't charge tolls, you resolve your you [10:36] resolve your issues with Saudi Arabia [10:37] and the United States before Galibbuff [10:40] comes to China. That wasn't in the first [10:41] article that these were conditions [10:44] set for the for moving forward for [10:49] implementing parts of the 25-year [10:51] cooperation agreement because the [10:52] Chinese are kind of dragging their feet [10:54] on implementing it. Marashi's comments [10:57] prompted fierce response from [10:58] conservative and hardline media. So [11:00] here, so here, let's set the table for [11:02] what we're about to read. [11:05] This guy who's ahead of one of the [11:06] parties in Iran comes out and says he [11:09] basic he says that the Chinese have have [11:13] told the Iranians to knock it off. open [11:16] the Straits of Hormuz, stop charging [11:18] tolls, mend fences with the Americans [11:20] and the Saudis, or we're not going to [11:22] implement, we're not going to move [11:23] forward with this 25- year strategic [11:25] partnership that we're part of. [11:27] Basically, read them the, you know, read [11:29] them the riot act. They got to do it. [11:30] So, he comes out and says this and now [11:33] we're going to now what's the response [11:35] of the regime to Marashi saying these [11:37] things? Marashi's comments prompted a [11:39] fierce response from conservative and [11:40] hardline media where questioning the [11:43] relationship with Beijing was portrayed [11:46] by some as serving Washington's [11:48] interests. The hardline Cayan newspaper [11:50] that is like a hardline regime [11:53] mouthpiece in Persian. It called Marashi [11:56] quote a facilitator of White House [11:58] policies and accused him of seeking to [12:00] poison Iran's strategic relations with [12:02] its eastern partners from within. A [12:05] commentary published by the FARS news [12:07] agency went further accusing reformists, [12:10] that's people like Pzeshan, of trying to [12:13] portray relations with China as unstable [12:16] and dependent on Washington and calling [12:18] for Marashi's prosecution. They want to [12:21] prosecute him for saying this. Now, I [12:23] want to put this incident [12:26] together with something I talked about [12:28] in an earlier video about how Peshan's [12:30] son and chief advisor [12:33] recently made statements about how what [12:35] do we need to have a nuclear enrichment [12:37] program for anyway? How does it benefit [12:39] us? And they were attacked for being [12:42] traitors for saying that also by the [12:44] Kion news agency. But that statement was [12:47] amplified by Peshan's office uh by his [12:51] own office, the president's office. [12:54] And then you have this guy who's the [12:55] head of a political party coming out and [12:57] saying these things. [13:00] Let's understand what we're seeing here. [13:02] These are the types of statements that [13:03] people in positions of uh of power in [13:06] Iran would never they would never voice [13:09] any disscent publicly. They would never [13:12] say things like this publicly, even [13:14] until quite recently, for fear of being [13:16] silenced or killed. [13:18] You just you just don't you don't break [13:20] ranks. And now we're seeing them break [13:22] ranks. Meaning the disputes going on [13:24] beneath the surface behind closed doors [13:26] in the Iranian leadership class are now [13:29] spilling out into the media and that's a [13:31] sign that they're losing their grip. [13:34] Okay. Uh before we go on uh I just want [13:36] to remind you that Rashashana is a week [13:38] away and there are many families in [13:39] Israel that struggle financially and the [13:42] festival season is a is a unique [13:44] challenge. It's a specific challenge for [13:46] these families because it's a very [13:47] expensive time of year and Israel 365 [13:50] charity is stepping up and we are uh [13:53] creating these large deliveries, these [13:55] significant deliveries of food items [13:57] that will be delivered to the door of [13:59] many needy families across Israel. We're [14:01] also arranging for festive meals for [14:03] many of these people. So, uh please make [14:06] sure that during this festival season, [14:08] we're also looking after uh the the [14:10] needy in Israel so they can also have a [14:12] joyous and enjoyable festival. If this [14:15] speaks to you, please go to the link, [14:17] please click on the link in the [14:19] description of this video uh for the [14:21] Israel 365 charity rashana or uh [14:24] festival campaign. [14:27] No family in Israel should face the high [14:29] holidays hungry. So God bless you for [14:31] participating in that. Just whatever you [14:33] can give it all it all helps. Now this [14:37] crisis in in China Iran relations that [14:40] we're seeing we're going to see a few [14:41] more indications of it. Take a look at [14:44] this. This is a news item from today and [14:47] it appeared in a number of different [14:48] Iranian regime outlets both in Wana and [14:50] Tasnim. [14:52] And this is a very strange story. It's a [14:54] strange news item. Look what the news [14:56] item is. top judge and that's this guy [15:00] here. [15:02] Top judge voices Iran's resolve to [15:06] expand ties with China. So the whole [15:08] news item is that the head of the [15:10] Iranian judiciary is saying [15:14] that Iran wants to have even better [15:16] relations with China than we already [15:18] have. Iran's judiciary chief Golam [15:20] Hussein Mos Mo Moseni Aay reaffirmed [15:24] this is the same guy who a few days ago [15:25] by the way was I quoted him as saying [15:28] that if people come out into the streets [15:30] to protest there's going to be an even [15:32] more brutal response this time than [15:33] there was in January. So this is no uh [15:36] he's no uh he's he's not a a choir boy [15:39] this guy. All right. So, so what's this [15:42] news item? That AA reaffirmed Tehran's [15:45] determination to expand relations with [15:47] China, noting that closer legal and [15:50] judicial cooperation can serve as a [15:52] pillar for strengthening broader [15:54] strategic ties between the two [15:56] countries. [15:57] Aay made the remarks during a meeting [15:59] with Jang Jun, president of the Supreme [16:01] People's Court of China and the [16:03] country's highest ranking judicial [16:05] official on the sidelines of his visit [16:07] to New Delhi to attend the bricks [16:10] meeting. Ah underscored Iran's firm [16:12] determination to expand relations with [16:15] China, saying that Iran had faced [16:16] illegal attacks by the United States [16:18] during the current year, but had [16:20] demonstrated its strategic resilience [16:22] and stability through the strong [16:23] presence of its people and their [16:25] comprehensive support for the country [16:26] and its officials. Jiang, for his part, [16:29] congratulated Aja on his reappoint as [16:32] head of Iran's judiciary and said he was [16:34] honored to meet him again. And then and [16:36] the and the article's full of all sorts [16:39] of um basically sucking up to the [16:42] Chinese and talking about how wonderful [16:43] Chinese technology and and uh innovation [16:47] is and how it's so important that we [16:49] have a better relations. Okay, that's [16:51] that's what this article is. So the fact [16:53] that this article is published at this [16:55] time right around this is [laughter] [16:58] let's put it this way. this article [17:00] about EJ saying we really want to have [17:02] much better relations with the Chinese [17:05] right around the time that that [17:08] Xihinping is snubbing Bzesan [17:11] and there's reports coming out that he's [17:13] basically read him the riot act in this [17:15] very abrupt short meeting where he won't [17:17] even be photographed with him publicly [17:19] and told him it's time to cut it off you [17:23] know it's time to knock it off and open [17:24] the streets of Wormuse and and and [17:26] behave yourselves and meanwhile And then [17:28] and then you have this news item saying, [17:31] you know, we really want to have better, [17:34] you know, better relations with Iran. [17:37] And and then we have this item. This is [17:39] this is from yesterday. Russia boosts [17:42] Arctic oil flows to China amid M East [17:44] turmoil. Russia has shipped more than 10 [17:46] million barrels of crude oil via the [17:48] northern seaw route so far this year, [17:50] boosting supplies to China as buyers [17:53] seek alternative sources amid [17:55] disruptions to Iranian exports and [17:58] concerns over Middle East shipping [17:59] routes. Two two sources said China has [18:03] recently increased purchases of Russian [18:05] crude amid a tightening of Iranian oil [18:08] supplies and concerns over transit [18:10] through the straight of Hormuz. traders [18:12] said pushing premiums for Russia's far [18:14] east espend crude for November delivery [18:17] to China to record highs. So China is [18:21] finding [18:23] China is finding other sources to [18:25] replace the Iranian oil and there's no [18:29] reason to believe that they're that [18:30] there's no guarantee they're going to [18:32] automatically go back to buying Iranian [18:34] oil when the when when this is all over. [18:36] They're finding alternative routes and [18:38] Iran's getting left out in the cold. And [18:41] now here's a here's a a piece. It's in [18:42] Alazer, which is not a a news I a news [18:45] source I usually uh uh like to quote [18:48] from, but it includes a lot of analysts. [18:50] They quote some analysts, including an [18:52] Israeli one. Uh and I think the analysis [18:55] is pretty spot-on. China's support for [18:57] Iran shows its limits as you as US ramps [19:01] up pressure on Thran. And this is from [19:04] yesterday. And it's all about how the [19:07] current moment in China Iran relations [19:10] that we're all watching that I'm [19:12] describing in this video is really [19:14] testing the relationship and showing its [19:16] limits. I mean, look, I I highlighted a [19:18] number of interesting quotes. While [19:20] China opposes the Trump administration's [19:22] military attacks and sanctions against [19:24] Iran, Beijing's relationship with Thran [19:27] is just one consideration in a foreign [19:29] policy that seeks to balance relations [19:31] with numerous countries, including the [19:34] US and the Gulf States. [19:36] Limiting its appetite, limiting China's [19:39] appetite to prop up the Iranian [19:41] leadership at any cost. quote, "China [19:44] with broader global interests can only [19:46] actively promote deescalation of the US [19:48] Iran conflict and cannot and will not [19:51] engage in fierce confrontation with the [19:53] Iran, I'm sorry, with the US for Iran's [19:56] sake. They're not going to they're not [19:57] going to they're not going to butt heads [19:59] with the Americans to save Iran," [20:02] said Hungafan, director of the China [20:04] Middle East Center at Shiao Jing [20:06] University in China. So, this is a [20:09] Chinese This is okay. When you have a [20:11] director of a China Middle East center [20:14] at a Chinese university, [20:17] this is someone who works for the CCP. [20:19] Okay, let's just be honest. So, what [20:21] they're saying is basically you could [20:23] trust that that's kind of the Chinese [20:25] position. These people don't speak [20:26] freely. [20:29] These are party operatives. That's how [20:31] you get in a position like that, [20:33] especially in Al Jazzer, Qatari outlet. [20:36] And look what he says here. He's [20:38] basically saying we're not going to bail [20:39] out Iran to say we're not going to save [20:41] we're not going to harm our relationship [20:43] with the United States to save Iran. [20:46] Quote, ultimately the US Iran conflict [20:48] must be resolved between the two by the [20:49] two countries themselves. China and Iran [20:52] share substantial trade links [20:53] particularly in energy and a mutual [20:56] suspicion of US dominance. But their [20:58] relationship is heavily lopsided with [21:01] Thran depending on Beijing far more than [21:03] vice versa. Few more good quotes here. [21:07] Even as Beijing and Thrron have forged [21:10] closer ties, their relations have for [21:12] years been marked by a substantial gap [21:15] between rhetoric and reality. In other [21:18] words, it's a lot of hot air. Oh, they [21:19] have a strategic alliance. Wow. [21:21] Strategic partnership. [21:23] You know, look, whenever you're dealing [21:26] with these countries, once you get, you [21:28] know, the Middle East or the or or these [21:30] totalitarian regimes and they sign these [21:32] agreements and we all go, "Oh, no. They [21:34] have a big agreement. These no one ever [21:36] keeps their agreements. While China [21:39] pledged to invest up to $400 billion in [21:42] Iran over 25 years as part of their [21:44] comprehensive strategic partnership [21:46] agreement signed in 2021, few projects [21:49] have materialized amid what analysts say [21:52] is Chinese firms reluctance to navigate [21:54] sanctions and the opaque Iranian [21:56] bureaucracy. In other words, they signed [21:58] this big agreement in 2021, this 25-year [22:02] strategic partnership, [22:04] and in it, it calls for $400 billion of [22:07] investments by by China in Iran. And [22:10] almost none of it's happening because [22:12] it's like, why do you want they don't [22:13] want to invest in Iran? [22:16] It's not a good place to invest. [22:19] You got to deal with sanctions. You got [22:20] to deal with Iranian bureaucracy. [22:23] In 2023, Iran's then deputy economy [22:26] minister Alifacri complained that he was [22:29] not satisfied with China's level of [22:31] investment since the agreement, saying [22:34] it had only amounted to 185 million. [22:36] It's supposed to be 400 billion. [22:40] And it it it's a fraction of a fraction, [22:46] 185 million. [22:49] Iranian experts often blame their [22:50] government for not doing enough to [22:52] attract Chinese investors or not pushing [22:54] Chinese companies to share more [22:56] technology, said Andrea Gasselli, head [22:58] of research at China Med Project. [23:00] However, the reality is there's no point [23:02] for Chinese companies to give up their [23:04] ties with in with the international [23:06] financial system to expand their [23:08] business in Iran. It's much easier and [23:10] more profitable to trade and invest [23:11] elsewhere. Iran's own domestic physical [23:14] and bank infrastructure is also an [23:17] obstacle. [23:18] So what we're seeing now is that [23:20] statement on steroids. It's not just [23:22] about Iranian companies, but the Iranian [23:24] I'm sorry. It's not just about Chinese [23:25] companies not wanting to invest in Iran. [23:27] The Chinese government is like looking [23:28] at it going, "Why do I want to deal with [23:30] this? [23:32] What do I need to help Iran and harm my [23:36] relations with everyone else in the [23:38] process?" Meanwhile, the most tangible [23:41] measure of China's economic support, [23:43] purchases of Iranian oil, have been [23:45] meaning the one thing that China was [23:47] doing for Iran, which was buying lots [23:49] and lots of their oil, it's been [23:51] dwindling amid the US blockade of [23:53] Iranian ports. Iranian crude exports via [23:56] the Straight of Hormuz, mostly bound for [23:57] China, fell from an estimated 1.85 85 [24:01] million barrels per day in March and [24:02] April to just 240,000 [24:09] in August. Oh my gosh. From 1.85 million [24:13] to 240,000 [24:16] according to data from ship track. [24:17] Imagine if your salary was cut by that [24:19] percentage. I mean, think about that. [24:21] Wow. [24:25] For China, Iran is valuable but [24:28] replaceable [24:30] across many dimensions. Iranian oil [24:32] matters, but China can obtain energy [24:34] from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the [24:36] UAE, and numerous other suppliers, said [24:38] Morai Khaziza, an expert on China Middle [24:40] East policy, who lectures at Ashkalon [24:42] Academic College in Israel. Iran offers [24:45] geopolitical access, but China possesses [24:48] relationships throughout the region. [24:51] Iran supports China's multipolar agenda, [24:54] but so do many other states. Let me [24:55] explain that sentence. China has an [24:57] agenda of creating a multipolar world. [24:59] They want to break American hedgemony. [25:01] So Iran is is a piece of that, but so [25:04] are lots of other states. [25:06] For China, Iran is seen more as a [25:09] customer than an ally, said Carrie [25:11] Bitsoff, former senior official at the [25:13] US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets [25:15] Control. Quote, I don't think this is [25:17] the alliance some people think it is. [25:19] This is the punchline of the whole [25:20] video. I don't think this is the [25:23] alliance people think it is, even though [25:24] there's a real support. I think it's [25:26] more of a customer relationship that [25:28] Iran can walk away that Iran can't walk [25:32] away from. And it was good for China. [25:35] They got cheap oil. They got a US tied [25:37] up in the Middle East. But I think that [25:39] only lasts up until a point where it [25:41] threatens China's other interests, she [25:44] added. Excellent, excellent piece of [25:47] analysis there. That is where because [25:49] that's really where we are in this [25:51] relationship. So when we think about [25:52] like, oh no, you know, the Iranians have [25:54] the Chinese in their corner. Oh, maybe [25:56] not militarily, but economically. No, [25:58] no, they don't. They're losing them and [26:00] they're panicking about it. And that's [26:01] why they're putting out these fluff [26:02] pieces saying, "Oh, we really want to [26:03] have better relationships with the [26:05] Chinese." And there's articles every day [26:07] or two. There's another article in the [26:08] Iranian media about how good the [26:10] relationship is with China. You know, [26:12] they do this all the time to try to [26:14] build up the idea that they have this [26:15] relationship. But now you're seeing [26:17] that, you know, Xihinping not wanting to [26:19] be seen with Pestan and and this leaked [26:23] story about how he told him to, you [26:25] know, to, you know, to knock it off in [26:27] the street of Hormuz, told the Iranians [26:29] to do that. You you can see that the and [26:32] the numbers the numbers on the drop in [26:34] export of oil to China. I mean, that is [26:35] just, [26:37] you know, it's wild. and the Chinese [26:40] finding other sources for oil. [26:43] So that's uh this is just another [26:45] element of the of the collapse [26:49] of Iran that we are witnessing in real [26:51] time and we can only uh hope and pray [26:53] that the end uh comes the end for the [26:56] regime comes as soon as possible. All [26:58] right folks, thanks for watching. God [27:00] bless. Please like, share, subscribe. [27:02] Make sure you're subscribed to this [27:03] channel and you know I'm really close to [27:05] 100,000 subscribers. It's very exciting. [27:07] I want to I'm thankful to all of you. Uh [27:09] but uh you know, please share this video [27:11] with someone that you think will find [27:12] this channel interesting and uh and uh [27:15] you know, and have a great Shabbat. Have [27:17] a great weekend, everyone. We'll see you [27:18] next week. Bye-bye.
