Washington may hype having gained Chinaâ??s support for a fourth round of United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, but Beijingâ??s leaders still seem to be working with their counterparts in Tehran to make existing and future attempts at tightening Iranâ??s access to global finances meaningless.
A report (in Persian) by the Fars News Agency confirms fears that China continues playing both sides of diplomatic and economic fences between the United States and Iran. While publicly appearing to go along with the much watered-down draft of sanctions, China has also agreed to "finance U.S. $1 billion for municipal and civic construction in the city of Tehran."
Essentially, the standoff between the West and Iran continues to play into Beijingâ??s hands. What if anything the United States and its allies can do remains unclear and possibly hopeless.
With friends like China, it is not surprising that Ahmadinejad and his cohorts dismiss the proposed set of sanctions as having "no legitimacy at all," even if adopted by the Security Council.
These developments highlight, yet again, that it is unrealistic to expect other nations to view multinational issues in the same light as the United States does. Attempts at resolving ongoing tensions with Iran in Americaâ??s favor, alas, continue demonstrating the escalating limits of Washingtonâ??s influence on a world stage where many nations are jousting for power.
