China & Iran: Not Quite What you'd Expect!

Well, here's a thing. Walter Russell Mead, an American academic (I think he's a political philosopher) who blogs at "the american interest", also know as Via Meadia - a very bad pun - reports that China has/is reducing its imports of oil from Iran. He suggests that this is by 10-15%.

Given that China takes something like 20% of Iran's oil exports, this threatens to be of significance to Iran's economic well-being. When this is added to the other economic sanctions on Iran, reportedly beginning to bite in a serious way, this all adds up to a significant non-military attack on both Ahmanedinejad and the Ayatollahs. It may all turn out for the best after all - and without Bibi having to unleash the undoubted might of the IAF. Now if only the Chinese government could see its way clear to being equally hard-nosed over Assad and Syria…

By the way, Mead has written a good book ("God and Gold: Britain, America and the Making of the Modern World"), which I'm still making my way through.

By Brian Goldfarb.