Washington sanctioned Iran. Tel Aviv cheered. Beijing cashed in.

The 25-Year Agreement between China and Iran: A Continuation of Previous Policy

For decades, Netanyahu’s grand strategy relied on a seductive lie: that Iran could be boxed in, crippled, and isolated through Western pressure.

That lie collapsed the moment China stepped in. Not just as a buyer of sanctioned oil, but as a strategic partner building Iran’s escape hatch.

The 25-year Iran–China agreement wasn’t just symbolic. It meant infrastructure, joint research, defense cooperation, satellite access, and missile tech transfers.

While Israeli analysts mocked Iran’s outdated missiles, China helped modernize its guidance systems. Russia joined in by operationalizing Iranian drones in Ukraine.

Iran was sanctioned by the West. But it was bankrolled, trained, and networked by the East. The axis of the sanctioned became the proving ground for new warfighting tech.

Netanyahu saw nukes in Natanz but missed the wiring in Bandar Abbas. He warned about centrifuges while Iran built up its drone factories and satellite links.

Bibi bet that Gulf states would keep Iran cornered. Then Beijing brokered peace between Tehran and Riyadh. The Arab-Israeli realignment died in silence.

At every turn, Israel’s “strategic deterrence” turned out to be short-term theatrics dressed up as long-term doctrine.

China didn’t just neutralize sanctions. It gave Iran the technology, financing, and trade routes to turn survival into leverage.

By the time Bibi realized this wasn’t a containment game but a continental realignment, Iran was already part of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Postscript:

The sanctions regime was supposed to crush Iran. Instead, it forced Tehran to go east. Now it’s integrated into a rising order while Israel watches its margin of error disappear.

Vir: William Huo