{"id":120016,"date":"2025-03-24T17:05:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T15:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120016"},"modified":"2025-03-24T10:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T08:02:16","slug":"24-05-108","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120016","title":{"rendered":"China Has Set Up Iran&#8217;s Next War in the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/images\/gatestone-logo-1000.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"50%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/21488\/china-iran-middle-east-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">China Has Set Up Iran&#8217;s Next War in the Middle East<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Gordon G. Chang<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li>Iran, in short, has a nuclear weapons program because of China. For a long time, the international community looked the other way as the &#8220;atomic ayatollahs,&#8221; in violation of their treaty obligations, worked on building these fearsome devices. President Donald Trump, to his credit, is taking the issue head on.<\/li>\n<li>Tehran almost certainly has [a nuclear bomb] by now. The Iranians themselves have made that clear. There is only a &#8220;one-week gap from the issuance of the order to the first test&#8221; of a nuclear bomb, according to an April 2024 public statement of a senior Iran lawmaker.<\/li>\n<li>Diplomats from Russia, Iran, and China met in Beijing this month to support Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons program. Tehran, bolstered by Beijing and Moscow, publicly said it had no desire to talk to Trump.<\/li>\n<li>There are in fact conversations behind the scenes, but Iran nonetheless would not be as brazen if Beijing were not fully supporting it.<\/li>\n<li>If Waltz is as good as his word &#8212; that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon &#8212; then China, by arming the ayatollahs with nukes, has made sure that the world&#8217;s next confrontation will be historic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/5321.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><em><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Diplomats from Russia, Iran and China met in Beijing this month to support Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons program. Iran has a nuclear weapons program because of China. China helped Iran possess both missiles and uranium enrichment capability. Pictured: Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi (R), China&#8217;s Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov hold a press conference in Beijing on March 14, 2025. (Photo by Lintao Zhang\/Pool\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">&#8220;Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,&#8221; U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/week-transcript-8-28-22-white-house-national\/story?id=119835746\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a>\u00a0ABC News&#8217;s Martha Raddatz on March 16<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Waltz&#8217;s demand was in fact more comprehensive. He said that Iran must also hand over, among other things, missiles and uranium enrichment capability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">China helped Iran possess both. Beijing has set the stage for the next war in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">On missiles, there is no doubt where Tehran got its delivery systems. &#8220;Most of Iran&#8217;s liquid-fueled ballistic missiles, including all its longest-range ones, are North Korean missiles with new paint,&#8221; Bruce Bechtol, author of\u00a0<i><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Korean-Military-Proliferation-Middle-Africa\/dp\/0813175887\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa: Enabling Violence and Instability<\/a><\/i>, told Gatestone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">&#8220;The missiles are probably why Trump is now dealing with Iran&#8217;s nukes.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">And where did North Korea get the technology that it sold to Iran? Some came from China. &#8220;The North&#8217;s submarine-launched KN-11 looks awfully like China&#8217;s Jl-1,&#8221; said Bechtol.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Pyongyang could not have sold missiles to Iran \u2014 and certainly could not transport them through Chinese airspace \u2014 without Beijing&#8217;s approval.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">On enrichment, China proliferated directly and indirectly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Indirectly, it proliferated through the nuclear black market ring headed by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. China, sometime around 1974, started helping Pakistan build a nuclear device. As proliferation analysts note, China&#8217;s help was crucial, substantial and continuous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Then, the infamous Khan, known as the father of the Pakistani bomb, merchandised China&#8217;s technology, including China&#8217;s blueprints for at least one warhead, to various countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Iran was one of Khan&#8217;s customers, especially for parts for centrifuges, the machines that purify uranium to bomb-grade. Khan used Chinese military installations to facilitate transfers to Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Apart from transfers through the Khan ring, China directly dealt with the Iranian regime. For instance, a Chinese enterprise, Zheijiang Ouhai Trade Corp., arranged the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702303450704575160242131138472.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surreptitious transfer<\/a>\u00a0of &#8220;critical valves and vacuum gauges&#8221; to Iran for use in its uranium enrichment program. Before that, another Chinese entity was involved in the sale to Iran of\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2010\/mar\/17\/irans-link-to-china-includes-nukes-missiles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">108 pressure transducers<\/a>, instruments that monitor gas centrifuges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The National Council of Resistance of Iran, the dissident group that in 2002 disclosed the secret nuclear facilities in Arak and Natanz, charged in September 2005 that the covert Chinese trade in centrifuges continued into that year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">China also aided Iran in areas beyond enrichment. In June 2002, for instance, the US State Department publicly noted that China had violated pledges it made in October 1997 to the United States to stop aiding specific Iranian nuclear projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In November 2003, the Associated Press reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff had identified China as one of the probable sources of equipment used in Tehran&#8217;s suspected nuclear weapons program. Chinese specialists were working in that program at least as late as fall 2003\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB107178894698893100\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a>\u00a0to Michael Ledeen, writing in the<i>\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In September 2005, the National Council of Resistance of Iran charged that China had secretly\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/nuclear\/iran-nuclear-china-gave-iran-beryllium-for-nuclear-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sent Iran beryllium<\/a>\u00a0the previous year. This metal, subject to international export controls, is used in neutron initiators to trigger nuclear weapons. The allegation is consistent with other reports about Iran&#8217;s covert attempts to source beryllium at that time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran, in short, has a nuclear weapons program because of China. For a long time, the international community looked the other way as the &#8220;atomic ayatollahs,&#8221; in violation of their treaty obligations, worked on building these fearsome devices. President Donald Trump, to his credit, is taking the issue head on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Now, the U.S. does not have a choice. As the Heritage Foundation pointed out in an October 2024\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/middle-east\/report\/iran-inching-toward-nuclear-weapons-breakout-what-does-mean-the-united-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a>\u00a0about Iran, &#8220;The United States is at a critical juncture.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">&#8220;Recently, the U.S. government disclosed that it believes Iran has activated its nuclear weapons program that it previously believed had been discontinued in 2003,&#8221; Anthony Celso, a professor of security studies at Angelo State University, told Gatestone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Office of the Director of National Intelligence in February of last year\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/ODNI\/documents\/assessments\/ATA-2024-Unclassified-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">issued<\/a>\u00a0its Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The document included this sentence: &#8220;Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities necessary to produce a testable nuclear device.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Fast-forward to July 23, 2024, when ODNI released\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/ODNI\/documents\/assessments\/ODNI-Unclassified-Irans-Nuclear-Weapons-Capability-and-Terrorism-Monitoring-Act-of-2022-202407.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">another report<\/a>\u00a0on the topic. The latter report did not include that assessment. From this and other indications, including\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/lindsey-graham-face-the-nation-transcript-07-28-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">comments<\/a>\u00a0of Senator Lindsey Graham after he received a classified briefing that month, it is clear that the U.S. intelligence community now believes Iran is racing toward the bomb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Tehran almost certainly has one by now. The Iranians themselves have made that clear. There is only a &#8220;one-week gap from the issuance of the order to the first test&#8221; of a nuclear bomb,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wionews.com\/videos\/iranian-lawmaker-hints-at-a-nuclear-test-714642\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a>\u00a0to an April 2024 public statement of a senior Iran lawmaker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">That boast appears accurate. In the following July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken essentially\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/blinken-iran-capable-of-producing-fissile-material-in-one-or-two-weeks-\/7705200.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">corroborated the statement by announcing<\/a>\u00a0that &#8220;instead of being at least a year away from having the breakout capacity of producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon,&#8221; Iran was &#8220;probably one or two weeks away from doing that.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In short, Iran then was a bomb-in-the-basement state, just a &#8220;couple turns of the screw&#8221; from having an actual weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The IAEA in January 2023\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-64810145\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">discovered<\/a>\u00a0that Iran possessed uranium enriched to 83.7% in the underground Fordo facility. There are no peaceful uses for uranium enriched to that purity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Since then, there have been additional disturbing indications. Last month, for instance, the agency\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/irans-stock-near-bomb-grade-uranium-grows-sharply-iaea-report-shows-2025-02-26\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">revealed<\/a>\u00a0that Iran possessed enough 60%-enriched uranium to make six weapons if that uranium were enriched to 90% purity, which would not be that difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Diplomats from Russia, Iran and China met in Beijing this month to support Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons program. Tehran, bolstered by Beijing and Moscow, publicly said it had no desire to talk to Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">There are in fact conversations behind the scenes, but Iran nonetheless would not be as brazen if Beijing were not fully supporting it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">If Waltz is as good as his word &#8212; that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon &#8212; then China, by arming the ayatollahs with nukes, has made sure that the world&#8217;s next confrontation will be historic.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><i><strong>Gordon G. Chang<\/strong> is the author of<\/i>\u00a0Plan Red: China&#8217;s Project to Destroy America<i>, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China Has Set Up Iran&#8217;s Next War in the Middle East Gordon G. Chang Iran, in short, has a nuclear weapons program because of China. For a long time, the international community looked the other way as the &#8220;atomic ayatollahs,&#8221; in violation of their treaty obligations, worked on building these fearsome devices. President Donald Trump, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120016"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120028,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120016\/revisions\/120028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}