It's really the darndest thing. Iranians have this weird idea that they're proto-Europeans or something, like being European or Euro-adjacent is something to aspire to. I'm sure that if the West were willing to lift sanctions on Iran, it would immediately slot back into the Western system with tears of joy in its eyes, like a teenage runaway who saw sense and successfully begged his parents to move back in. Iran would out-Israel Israel.
Add to that the fact that they're so backward and isolated that they honestly have no idea about the heights China has already reached, let alone where it's going. They think China is still straw hat-wearing peasants riding bicycles and pulling rickshaws.
It's been surprising watching Iran mire itself in its own ideological stupidity, culminating in this episode of exploding pants pockets, while its Gulf Arab enemies who do see where the world is going sign deal after deal with China. I'm taken aback by news like this:
Makes sense, though. Wealthy Arabs got to be wealthy in part by attaching themselves to the winning side.