Talat Farooq also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security, University of Birmingham in her article published in 'Express Tribune' said as rational actors and members of the Security Council, Russia and China must use their power to defuse the situation in the Persian Gulf region.
She said Trump administration’s abandoning of the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposition of crippling sanctions on Tehran has elicited defying responses from both Beijing and Moscow. The two states have not curtailed their business with Tehran and are instead willing to enhance investment in Iran’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
The analyst noted in the last few years, Beijing and Moscow have increased their political and economic cooperation to offset punitive sanctions against Russia since 2014 and the recent US trade war with China.
She went on to say that China and Russia have wisely profited from Trump’s renewed drive to isolate and pressurize Iran and both countries are seeking to shape spheres of influence in the Middle East by expanding ties with Tehran.
“In other words, American coercive actions have driven China, Russia and Iran to work together to counter US pressure,” Talat Farooq pointed out.
She also said that in recent years Beijing has helped thwart sanctions against Iran by investing in the energy sector abandoned by the Americans and Europeans.
The expert viewed China sees Tehran as an important link in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Senior researcher noted that Moscow assisted Tehran to develop various projects and later became the sole supplier of Iran’s nuclear sector.
She said Moscow has introduced the concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf aimed at establishing a regional security and cooperation organisation — an idea that China endorses.
She also said that in December 2019, Iran, Russia and China conducted four-day joint maritime exercises in the Indian Ocean which was a message to the US that any attack on Iran can escalate into a broader conflict involving the world’s major nuclear powers.
She said it is obvious that another war in the region will have implications far beyond the Middle East.
“However, Moscow and Beijing can tip the balance of power and decelerate the American juggernaut by making it clear that they intend to safeguard their own strategic interests in the region,” said the analyst.
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