Iran Turns East with China Partnership: Should the West Respond?

As the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to establish diplomatic ties, Iran and China’s 25-year, $400 billion deal lurks in the background. The nearly finalized Iran-China Deal provides potential for equal or greater regional consequence. Iran, weakened by sanctions and Covid-19 impacts, has turned East to find both economic and military support. China and Iran have a history of deals and arrangements, but does this partnership’s trade and military components pose strategic concerns for the West? Other Iranian allies like Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon reportedly are lining up to negotiate similar pacts. Does this alliance, in providing a foothold in the region, benefit China with leverage in Middle East affairs?

Whether or not sanctions against Iran are renewed, how will the United Nations or the United States respond to an Iran-China arms deal? Will the lessons learned by countries that have entered into Belt and Road Initiatives be instructive as new agreements are forged? What should the West’s response be and what is the range of options?

Featuring:
-- Hon. Dov S. Zakheim, Senior Fellow, CNA
-- Brigadier General (Res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
-- Bryan Smith, Senior Fellow, George Mason University National Security Institute
-- Moderator: Matthew R.A. Heiman, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Waystar Health