The current regime in Iran is pretty much what you would expect. The country is ethically very diverse so it needs a strong gov and religion to stay united. And yes, they are a political hot potato.
Ethnic map.
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- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
Ethnic map.
Agree but... Persians should know their own history. Their civilization was always in conflict with the West; and several of their greatest empires were brought down by Western conquerors, who are celebrated to this day for the destruction they wrecked upon Persia. Yes, they have been in conflict with the Arabs through most of history, too. But the West is no friend of Persia's.
That said, I do think Arabs are more in the Global South camp than Persians, who being Indo-Europeans themselves, have that love-hate relationship with the West that makes them prone to Western influence and arrogance. Semitic peoples have been fighting Indo-Europeans since the beginning of history, and even if one of then has obtained great power and influence over the Indo-Europeans today, the basic conflict runs deep.
Iran's problem are twofold.
Firstly, they have taken too few steps in developing their civil society, and this is not due to sanctions which are more or less toothless if Iran truly dedicates to development. China is and was under equivalent sanctions yet it is now the world's largest economy. Nobody forced Iran to adopt a "morality police" nor forced them to restrict rights for half of the population. This type of thinking effectively freezes major civil cooperation with China and its friends, and that hurts Iran more than any illegal sanctions.
Secondly, Iran is strong in picking sides, which by itself is a laudable quality, but it also means they have little leverage. China knows that if things get hot with America, Iran is an emergency partner they can always fall back on, due to the hatred between the 2 countries. Saudi on the other hand is nominally part of America's union, not to mention gatekeeper of OPEC oil exports, so it is a great geopolitical boon if China can flip them.
Therefore unless Iran can exploit the route of ideological/developmental closeness with China, Saudi will always be able to gain way more cooperation. Iran will be stuck in a sort of pit where they just can militarize but won't be able to gain civilian development.
Firstly, they have taken too few steps in developing their civil society, and this is not due to sanctions which are more or less toothless if Iran truly dedicates to development. China is and was under equivalent sanctions yet it is now the world's largest economy. Nobody forced Iran to adopt a "morality police" nor forced them to restrict rights for half of the population. This type of thinking effectively freezes major civil cooperation with China and its friends, and that hurts Iran more than any illegal sanctions.
Secondly, Iran is strong in picking sides, which by itself is a laudable quality, but it also means they have little leverage. China knows that if things get hot with America, Iran is an emergency partner they can always fall back on, due to the hatred between the 2 countries. Saudi on the other hand is nominally part of America's union, not to mention gatekeeper of OPEC oil exports, so it is a great geopolitical boon if China can flip them.
Therefore unless Iran can exploit the route of ideological/developmental closeness with China, Saudi will always be able to gain way more cooperation. Iran will be stuck in a sort of pit where they just can militarize but won't be able to gain civilian development.
Cross out Iran, replace it with US and it makes even more sense.
Does that also explain India's mind boggling behavior as well? Or is the hangover from colonial subjugation more to blame?
It's more China overpromising and not delivering on the big investments. Whose fault is it that nothing has happened? Is there any evidence that Iranian authorities have been delaying a Chinese project?
It's a major strength of the west that they are strong in choosing sides and that all the western countries are aligned. That's why China has been trying to promote EU independence from the US. But currently they're all working together, sometimes more, sometimes less, but they all feel they're on the same side.
Non western powers aren't very united. Everyone is happy to work with China, but few want to ally with China, because China won't choose their side in a conflict with the west as trade with the west is still too important. If you reward countries with leverage, that always play the superpowers against each other, you can't build your own bloc. So if China actually supports the UAE, which is not very pro China, against Iran, which is almost completely aligned with Chinese interests, in a territorial dispute, what message does that send to other countries that want to work with China? If I were in Cambodia now, I'd be worried about China supporting Vietnamese claims because Vietnam is bigger and has more leverage
Well that was truly disappointing for an Indian as open minded as Maitreya Bhakal. He should really educate himself and read this book:
India's China War
Looking at his latest rant about China. It's safe to say that he won't be contributing anymore to CGTN. Well good riddance.
Perhaps CGTN could try to approaching Jayant Bhandari next time. Not the best in terms of quality and facts. But he'll give plenty of entertaining mud-slinging at India. Morality wise, it is not right for CGTN to get this guy. But India deserves tons more mud coming it's way. It has been asking for it.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Why do people keep thinking China has switched sides between Iran and Saudi Arabia? That’s the western colonial divide and conquer playbook, which has never been popular in Chinese strategic thinking. China has always been about promoting cooperation, unity and stability. As such, I think it’s far more likely China is doing what it has always been doing - maintaining good relations with both, and may even be able to help bridge their ideological divide and unite together.
In fact, this whole China has switched sides narrative sounds exactly like the kind of fake news the CIA/NED orchestrated western MSM would invent and promote to try to flip Iran. Because rather than China changing sides, this new elevated strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia signals the Saudis have flipped sides from the US to China.
Saudi Arab and Iran have far more in common than what divides them, and with America and Israel as common enemies, they could be bound into an extremely strong and powerful regional power block that can totally dominate the ME. That’s why the US and vassals are panicking and trying to sow division between China and Iran, because while they can try and balance China and Iran or China and SA by teaming up with the other, there is no one remotely powerful enough to counterbalance China and Iran and SA all on the same team.
In fact, this whole China has switched sides narrative sounds exactly like the kind of fake news the CIA/NED orchestrated western MSM would invent and promote to try to flip Iran. Because rather than China changing sides, this new elevated strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia signals the Saudis have flipped sides from the US to China.
Saudi Arab and Iran have far more in common than what divides them, and with America and Israel as common enemies, they could be bound into an extremely strong and powerful regional power block that can totally dominate the ME. That’s why the US and vassals are panicking and trying to sow division between China and Iran, because while they can try and balance China and Iran or China and SA by teaming up with the other, there is no one remotely powerful enough to counterbalance China and Iran and SA all on the same team.
Jayant Bhandari, Ashok Swain and perhaps even Pravin Sawhney (minus his "CHYNA TOOK 2000 SQ KMS FROM INDIA REEE" ranting) would all be good at shitting on the Indians. I don't know if there are any Punjab independence leaders in Canada or UK who would be interested in shitting on India, but you could find a couple of you look hard enough. I hate to say this but China really needs to get down in the mud to the level of the Indian media to effectively troll Jai Hinds. Who better than a couple of self-hating Indians themselves
For better or worse (it confers both benefits and negatives), US bloc is organized as an union of states that are only in name independent. If a few of them break off, it can easily cause a domino effect.
Iran would be more than happy to join China's bloc, its China itself that doesn't want to pick sides in the middle east when there are so many unresolved conflicts, because it would lock them out of potentially better deals.
The more conflicts can be resolved between the Israel - Syria - Iraq - Saudi - Iran sector, the larger and more powerful the alliance China can reap in the end will be.
The fault of Iran is not in breaking any deals, they're a stable oil/resource supplier. The problem is that due to backwards laws, they will not be able to become more than that.
How many Chinese or Russian academics would go to Iran to create cooperation? Consider many of them are female themselves and/or are going to bring their whole family over for years. Is the political climate of Iran conductive to allowing civil exchange?
By taking the fight against America you lose access to the world's 2nd largest economy and 2nd largest source of scientific publications as well. That is no small loss, but if you also have frankly irrational laws that will end up alienating the no 1 economy and no 1 country in research at the same time, then you created a devastating situation of your own making.
China spent a decade or so curing radical Islam after radical Islam killed hundreds in terror attacks and repressed hundreds of thousands individuals through backwards laws, it is not going to want to have close connections with countries where radical Islam is written in their constitution.