How China is advancing in Iran (stung by the US)
The latest US moves against Iran. The embarrassed position of the European states. While China strengthens economic ties with Tehran. The in-depth analysis by Giuseppe Gagliano
On 19 September Mike Pompeo announced that the US unilaterally reintroduced the UN sanctions against Iran – sanctions that had been frozen – because Tehran would not respect its nuclear commitments.
On August 20, the US, through Pompeo, had denounced to the UN Iran's failure to comply with the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – signed during the administration of Barack Obama, on 14 July 2015, in Vienna by Iran, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Germany and the European Union – an agreement which provides, in the event of non-compliance with the agreements, the mechanism known as snapback which implies the sanctions and embargo.
More specifically, this mechanism provides that even in the event of an American withdrawal from the JCPOA, the US not only has the right to extend the embargo on conventional weapons but also to impose further sanctions on Tehran. Indeed, precisely in 2018, Trump made the decision to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement, arguing the need to reintroduce new sanctions.
However, compared to the declarations made in 2018 by Trump, the novelty of the American offensive posture is relevant: the American President stressed that he will have no hesitation in imposing economic consequences on all nations that will not respect the US diktat. The Iranian reactions are quite obvious: through the mouth of its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran underlined on the one hand the unacceptable American arrogance and on the other hand it launched an appeal to the international community to oppose the United States.
However, far more significant, on a geopolitical level, were the reactions of some European countries – such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany – which refused to accept the deadline of September 20 imposed by the United States to restore sanctions on Tehran. if they also follow the facts in addition to words.
Finally, opposition from China and Russia, permanent members of the Security Council, is foreseeable.
To understand this American reaction, we must go back to May 8, 2018 when not only had the US withdrawn from the nuclear agreement with Iran, signed in 2015, but had promised to implement severe economic sanctions against Tehran and its business partners. These statements had marked the beginning of a new economic confrontation involving the United States, Germany and France, but also China.
In fact, Europe has been banned from buying Iranian oil and this constitutes enormous economic damage. Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France risk giving up the possibility of positioning themselves as leaders in a country that has long been closed to the West.
Well, despite the numerous statements by the European heads of state and the United Nations Secretary-General and despite the promises made that a solution must be addressed, the room for maneuver of European leaders has so far been very limited.
All this depends not only on the intrinsic weakness of the European Union compared to the US, but is also the consequence of the formidable weapon that represents the extraterritoriality of American law. Thanks to this tool, the United States has managed to make their legal system a powerful economic weapon.
In other words, the United States Department of Justice has the power to sue any foreign company with relations with the United States and engaged in fraudulent activities such as bribery. For example, using the US dollar as a currency or using the Gmail mailbox gives the Department of Justice the right to interfere in the business practices of any company in the world.
In short, with this type of means, the United States has total control over what is happening outside its borders. As part of the Iranian deal, this results in an economic embargo that forces Europe to stop trading with Iran without being able to stop its companies from losing their contracts.
The statements made in 2018 by the highest European representatives (joint statement by France, Germany and the United Kingdom), as well as the 2018 trip of French President Emmanuel Macron to the United States, had no effect on the progress of the Iranian problem. France in particular suffered significant damage as both Total, the Peugeot Citroën group and Airbus had significant interests in Iran.
China, taking advantage of this political weakness, has decided to maintain and even strengthen its relations with Iran. Indeed, China's response to President Donald Trump's announcement in 2018 was to demonstrate to the Iranian government its strong ambition to thrive in trade relations and strategic partnerships.
Iran naturally emphasized Beijing's constructive role. This Chinese position is the logical consequence of an open conflict with the United States also characterized by the economic war between the two countries. Furthermore, Iran is the largest supplier of oil to China with a quarter of exports to the Asian giant.
In particular, Chinese companies did not hesitate to fill the vacant positions on the Iranian market left uncovered by Europeans (and in particular by French groups). As for oil, the China National Petroleum Corps (CNPC) took over Total's stake in the southern Iranian gas field with an 80.1% stake.
Following the agreement signed in July 2017 for a value of 4.8 billion, Total held 50.1% followed by Chinese CNPC with 30% and Iranian Petropars (19.9). Following Total's departure from the consortium, CNPC has taken over all shares and positions itself as a dominant partner in the energy field. The same strategy was implemented for the automobile industry through China's Bejing Baic.
In short, China dominates the strategic sectors of the Iranian economy with billions of dollars of investments and this is determining a significant competitive advantage over Europe which demonstrates both the absence of a unitary offensive economic policy – due to the countless conflicts between European nations. – is once again the subordination to the American "ally-enemy"
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/come-avanza-la-cina-in-iran-stangata-dagli-usa/ on Mon, 21 Sep 2020 04:39:16 +0000.