Here's the key first sentence of an article in the Wall Street Journal reporting on a major international development that has gotten essentially no coverage in the mainstream media:
"China National Petroleum Corp. has pulled out of a $5 billion natural-gas project in Iran as escalating tensions threaten to sever Beijing’s trade with Tehran, a key lifeline for the Islamic Republic."
The Journal goes on to report that the Chinese are likewise pulling back from other ventures in Iran mainly as a result of major pressure from the USA. No matter what the reason, however, this lost investment is a major blow to the Iranians.
Think about this. Five years ago, president Obama ended all sanctions on Iran, gave the mullahs roughly $150 billion and guaranteed Iran a nuclear weapons in ten years. That was the "wonderful" deal that Obama dishonestly claimed ended the threat of the Iranian nuclear program. Last year, President Trump pulled the USA out of that bogus deal and began pressuring Iran to actually negotiate an end to its nuclear program which had continued on after the Obama travesty was signed. In the last year, the new sanctions that President Trump put on Iran have pushed the Iranians into a corner. Iran has been testing the resolve of the USA by taking indirect military actions. Iran wants to know how far it can go before America responds militarily. Most of all, however, Iran is trying to get President Trump to cave in and lift the sanctions. Trump, however, has stood his ground and the sanctions just keep getting tighter and tighter. This latest move by China is a killer blow because China is the main power who the Iranians thought could resist the USA's pressure.
There's no way to know for sure what has motivated this move by the Chinese, but it some experts say that it is tied to the recent Iranian attacks on the Saudi oil facilities. China gets a huge amount of oil from the Middle East, so the loss of the Saudi production was a blow to China much more than to oil-exporting America. The Chinese, no doubt, fear that a huge $5 billion investment in a gas project could be destroyed should the Saudis and the Iranians come fully to blows -- with or without American involvement.
This move by China will put intense pressure on the mullahs in Teheran. It remains to be seen how they react.
"China National Petroleum Corp. has pulled out of a $5 billion natural-gas project in Iran as escalating tensions threaten to sever Beijing’s trade with Tehran, a key lifeline for the Islamic Republic."
The Journal goes on to report that the Chinese are likewise pulling back from other ventures in Iran mainly as a result of major pressure from the USA. No matter what the reason, however, this lost investment is a major blow to the Iranians.
Think about this. Five years ago, president Obama ended all sanctions on Iran, gave the mullahs roughly $150 billion and guaranteed Iran a nuclear weapons in ten years. That was the "wonderful" deal that Obama dishonestly claimed ended the threat of the Iranian nuclear program. Last year, President Trump pulled the USA out of that bogus deal and began pressuring Iran to actually negotiate an end to its nuclear program which had continued on after the Obama travesty was signed. In the last year, the new sanctions that President Trump put on Iran have pushed the Iranians into a corner. Iran has been testing the resolve of the USA by taking indirect military actions. Iran wants to know how far it can go before America responds militarily. Most of all, however, Iran is trying to get President Trump to cave in and lift the sanctions. Trump, however, has stood his ground and the sanctions just keep getting tighter and tighter. This latest move by China is a killer blow because China is the main power who the Iranians thought could resist the USA's pressure.
There's no way to know for sure what has motivated this move by the Chinese, but it some experts say that it is tied to the recent Iranian attacks on the Saudi oil facilities. China gets a huge amount of oil from the Middle East, so the loss of the Saudi production was a blow to China much more than to oil-exporting America. The Chinese, no doubt, fear that a huge $5 billion investment in a gas project could be destroyed should the Saudis and the Iranians come fully to blows -- with or without American involvement.
This move by China will put intense pressure on the mullahs in Teheran. It remains to be seen how they react.
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