HUGE. In China-Brokered Deal, Iran and Saudi Arabia Restore Diplomatic Ties

 

by John V. Walsh 

Posted onMarch 10, 2023

"HUGE. China-brokered Deal, Iran and Saudi Arabia Restore Diplomatic Ties," ran the headline for today’s installment on The Duran YouTube Channel hosted by Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris. In terms of diplomacy the news was indeed earth shaking.

Some of the many far reaching geopolitical ramifications are explored by Christoforou and Mercouris.

More details are contained in an excellent early report here by Antiwar.com’s own Kyle Anzalone.

Some reactions provide an idea of the impact of this news:

The New York Timesreported, "China’s most senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi, indicated in a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website that Beijing had played an instrumental role in the agreement. ‘This is a victory for the dialogue, a victory for peace, and is major positive news for the world which is currently so turbulent and restive, and it sends a clear signal. The world is not just the Ukraine issue, and there are many issues bearing on peace and people’s well-being that demand the attention of the international community and must be properly addressed by the parties concerned in a timely way.’"

In a less restrained fashion, Pepe Escobar (@RealPepeEscobar) tweeted. "Iran-Saudi Arabia. CHINA was the privileged messenger. Not the discredited Divide and Rule Empire of Plunder. This will be positive for Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. And this reduces NATO to dust. Peace is NOT war."

The news gave no joy to Mark Dubowitz of the neocon Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the NYT it is "a lose, lose, lose for American interests." He went on, "It demonstrates that the Saudis don’t trust Washington to have their back, that Iran sees an opportunity to peel away American allies to end its international isolation and that China is becoming the major-domo of Middle Eastern power politics."

The most telling reaction came from a single verb used by the NYT reporter who described the Middle East as "a region that was long shaped by the military and diplomatic involvement of the United States." (Emphasis, jw).

From this writer’s point of view, the ability of China to broker the Iran-Saudi peace deal provides it with the creds to do the same with Ukraine – and beyond. It is a diplomatic master stroke that contrasts the US as a warmaker with China as a peacemaker.

John V. Walsh, until recently a Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience at a Medical School in Massachusetts, has written on issues of peace and health care for the San Francisco Chronicle, EastBayTimes/San Jose Mercury News, Asia Times, LA Progressive, Antiwar.com, CounterPunch and others.
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2023/03/10/huge-in-china-brokered-deal-iran-and-saudi-arabia-restore-diplomatic-ties/