Why are Iranians unhappy with China-Iran’s Lion-Dragon deal?
An agreement has been reached between China and Iran, about which no announcement has been made yet. It is being told that this agreement between the two countries will be valid for the next 25 years.
Experts and common people are speculating about this deal and expressing their opinion.
However, the general public of Iran seems pessimistic about this.
It is being called the Lion-Dragon Deal because Iran’s radical newspaper ‘Jawan’ had published the news of this agreement and imposed this title.
What is the agreement?
The agreement was first announced through a joint statement on January 23, 2016, when Chinese President Xi Xinping visited Iran.
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Article-6 of this deal says that the two countries will increase mutual cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure, industry and technology.
“Both sides have agreed to increase mutual cooperation for the next 25 years.”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, during a meeting with Chinese President Xinping, pointed to ‘some countries’, especially the US-dominated policy.
He had said, “In view of this situation, independent countries should cooperate more with each other. Both sides will seriously follow this strategic agreement between Iran and China for the next 25 years. ”
In addition to Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has also on many occasions praised China’s support and ally against American sanctions.
On June 21, Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting that the agreement is an opportunity for both China and Iran to participate in fundamental and infrastructure-related projects. Rouhani said that he has entrusted the responsibility of negotiating with the Chinese side and giving the final outline of the talks to Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif.
Cooperation in energy
Iranian economist Ali Asghar Zargar had said in a semi-official interview to Iran’s ILNA news agency that any oil-related agreement between Iran, China and Russia would prove to be helpful in energy, security and economic matters.
Zargar said, “China chooses countries which are not under the influence of any other country under its policy. Therefore, Iran can help China independently. On the other hand, China also participated in some of our projects and there is no colonial greed in it. Therefore, both countries can benefit from this deal. China may also benefit from Iran’s presence in Iraq. “
According to Zargar, while China needs energy resources, Iran needs technology and investment, so this agreement will be in the interest of both countries.
China and Iran vs USA
The Iranian newspaper ‘Jawan’ wrote in one of its comments that this is the best time for a deal between Iran and China because at present the US feels ‘weak’ in front of China and China feels ‘insecure’ with the US .
The newspaper writes that China’s ‘anti-American’ policies are also beneficial to the agreement.
Has referred to the statement of Iranian Parliament Majlis Speaker Mohammad Qalib in which he said, “We have seen how the Trump administration interferes with the independence and governance of other countries.” America has done the same with Iran and China. We have been witness to this. Therefore, regional and international cooperation with China is mandatory. We can’t ignore it. “
On June 23, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabi said that the framework of the deal has been finalized.
He had said, “This agreement proves that America’s policy of isolating Iran and severing its international relations has failed.”
Is Iran’s policy changing?
Senior Iranian journalist Ahmed Zidabadi believes that the ‘East Policy’ is not turning towards but becoming part of the international system.
Ahmed writes, “China emphasizes stability rather than enmity with the world. It wants to have friendly relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. “
At the same time, Ahmed also feels that because of this agreement, Iran’s own policies will change and they will be forced to follow China’s policies.
Ahmad asks if the Iranian authorities made this agreement with China to threaten the US and Europe so that they would be soft on their policies that banned it later?
Ahmed also speculates that the Iranian government may have made this agreement because it would not see any other option except to change its policies.
Why is this deal so ‘confidential’?
The Iranian government is also being criticized for not providing detailed information about this agreement. Former President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a rally on 27 June, “Any agreement with any foreign party to know the wishes and demands of the people is against the national interest and is invalid.”
He criticized the deal’s “ambiguity” and the Iranian government’s “secrecy of facts”. Ahmadinejad appealed to the government officials to inform the country about this agreement.
In response to Ahmadinejad’s allegations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that after China’s approval, the ministry can publish full details of the deal. He denied allegations that there was any ‘ambiguity’ in the deal’s provisions.
Economist Mohsin Shariatina says that the agreement would prove that Iran is now adopting a soft strategy towards the east. They believe that the roadmap to this deal is a strategic collaboration that is different from the Alliance. Mohsin believes that the views, policies and constitution of China and Iran are quite different.
What are the people of Iran saying?
The people of Iran are not happy with the news of this deal. On social media, people are telling the beginning of ‘Chinese colonialism’ of this agreement. Social media users have tweeted more than 17 thousand times in the last 24 hours with the hashtag # iranNot4SELLnot4RENT (Iran is for sale and not for rent).
