Five lessons from China's role in normalizing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Iranian Diplomacy: the improvement of Iran-Saudi relations, which was hosted by China and was carried out after five days of intensive negotiations in Beijing and hosted by the highest level of foreign apparatus of this country, between Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of our country, and his Saudi counterpart. It has several lessons and tips.

First, this event is an important victory for China. It can be said that this is China's first successful action in playing a trans-regional role in the Middle East, which was previously held by the United States of America. Now China is going to fill the empty place of the US and earn the trust that the countries of the region had in Washington before. In other words, China is going to take the place of the US in the region for West Asian countries.

The other is that the countries of the West Asian region, which includes the Islamic Republic of Iran, have shown that they need a guardian or a mediator or a godfather or a superpower or a transregional mediator (whatever name we want to give it, it doesn't make a difference). In the light of the dimming of the role of the United States, its Chinese version is activated. There was this hope before, and it was the desire of the Islamic Republic of Iran above all that the countries of its region, that without the interference of foreigners and extra-regional countries, countries of the region cooperate with each other and resolve their differences. Even at one point, Iraq as a regional country, trusted by both sides, played a role between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But in the end we see that such a wish has not been fulfilled and a trans-regional country of the type of a new superpower has played a role.

The third point is that the theory that superpowers cooperate with each other in controlling crises (at the level of regional powers), despite bilateral differences was put into practice. With the knowledge we have about China in its relations with America, Chinese politicians were definitely in tune with American politicians and they carried out these negotiations consciously and with a high-level coordination.

Fourth , it seems that the due of the destructive power of the US dollar on Iran and the forced relations of the Islamic Republic with China has worked. Whether they engaged the Islamic Republic of Iran in this equation or not is of secondary importance; but what is clear is that we were effective in softening China's relations with America. At the same time, the American pressure pushed us towards relying on China, even if it was forced.

In the end, the words of Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, who always said -with disdain- that Saudi Arabia will not last two weeks without American support are apparently no longer valid.