Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Feb. 27, 2019 – The Iranian regime’s speaker of Majlis (parliament) visited China last week and praised the growing economic ties between the two countries.
“Iran and China are two countries with historical civilization and have always had close ties with each other,” Larijani told reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Monday before his departure to China.
Mohammad Javad Jamali, member of the Iranian parliament, acknowledged that the speaker’s visit to China was a result of international sanctions and the Islamic Republic’s growing isolation: “Mr. Larijani’s visit happened because of the special conditions that the severe and unjust U.S. sanctions have created against the Islamic Republic and Europe is practically following these sanctions. No doubt, the Islamic Republic must use all its potential and capabilities to open other doors.”
Jamali repeated expressions that the visit “was the establishment’s decision” and that it “delivered the Islamic Republic’s message to China” was a direct hint that the visit was under direct order and supervision of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Earlier, the president and his first deputy visited China and Russia. But it appeared that the Chinese needed reassurances from the side of the legislative… The Chinese needed to be reassured that the talks with them are the stance of the whole [regime]… it has been made absolutely clear that the message that was delivered to Chinese officials during this visit is the message of the Islamic Republic,” Jamali added.
It’s clear that during Rouhani and Jahangiri’s visit to China, the country’s officials who know very well that the president and his government are not the real decision makers of the Iranian regime postponed their decisions until they receive a clear message from the regime’s Supreme Leader.
Hanif Ghaffari, an Iranian regime pundit, described relations with China as “wide strategic exchanges” with “exceptional importance”.
“There is no doubt that a ‘strategic exchange’ with China, while it has been proven that European officials’ financial mechanism package has failed, is an important and proven path in our country’s economic and foreign relations field,” Ghaffari said to Fars news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Ahmad Shirzad, close to Rouhani’s faction and a former member of the parliament, who previously insisted on relations with the West and Europe in particular, said in an interview with Etemad online website: “Relations with China, especially economically, are very important to us and if we engage China in the right way and encourage them to have a firm stance in having a continued economic relationship with us will solve many difficulties that the Americans want to put upon our economy.”
In contrast to this line of wishful thinking, Naser Riahi, chair of the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Importers, revealed that Chinese and Indian banks aren’t even willing to cooperate for importing medicaments.
“Importing medicaments is currently very difficult. All the banking systems are locked down and it is very difficult to get work done,” he said.
“Importing ready-made medicaments is easier but we have difficulties in importing raw material… In such a situation, Chinese and Indian banks don’t cooperate very much, and the situation is deteriorating. Every path we take faces problems after some time,” he added.
Iranian officials’ turn to China and Russia is a clear sign that the Iranian regime is disappointed with Europe.
Ali Khamenei has said earlier that Europe won’t help the Iranian regime to circumvent the U.S. sanctions and advised Iranian officials to “Look Eastward”.
“We should look to the East, not the West. In addition, looking to the West and Europe has no benefits but being kept waiting, currying favor, and being belittled,” Khamenei said in a speech in October last year.
Referring to Europe’s financial mechanism and the European troika that signed the nuclear deal, Khamenei said: “I don’t trust these three countries and I say you shouldn’t trust them. If you want to sign an agreement, get real and actionable guarantees or tomorrow they’ll do in another way what the U.S. does today.”
“Sometimes, they [the European three] stick the dagger in their opponents’ breast while smiling and with nominal compliments that we know you won’t break up the agreement, they pursue their own goals,” he further said.
Despite the ballyhoo of Khamenei’s about the look-to-the-East policy and Larijani’s visit to China, fact is that this policy is a cheap attempt by a regime that feels increasingly desperate under economic and political pressure, both from inside and outside the country.
China and Russia’s amount of trade with the U.S. is considerably more than their transactions with Iran and none of them is willing to sacrifice it to help the Iranian regime.
Hossein Pirmozen, member of the Iran-China Trade Chamber, says: “The Chinese government, contrary to its political stances, hasn’t made a reasonable decision when it comes to economic exchange with Iran. The Chinese have broken their promises regarding providing Iran with necessary spare parts. They say we should do our trading via third-class banks.”
