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The Iran Strike Is All About China
Beijing is providing the Islamic Republic with the tools to survive its own population’s rejection. (Illustration by The Free Press; image by Mahsa/Middle East Images via AFP)
Why Operation Epic Fury is the opening act of the Indo-Pacific century.
By Zineb Riboua
03.02.26 — International
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Operation Epic Fury, this weekend’s joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran, has been widely described as an extraordinary assault on the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. That is true, but it misses a critical dimension. For years, Beijing has spent billions of dollars building Iran into a structural asset. By striking Iran directly, the Trump administration is dismantling, whether by design or by consequence, a pillar of China’s regional architecture.

In other words: This is all about China.

Let me explain.

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Zineb Riboua
Zineb Riboua is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute and founder of its China in MENA Project.
Tags:
War
Iran
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