The U.S. and Israel are bombing Iran, again, to stop it from becoming a nuclear power and to inspire regime change. As downtrodden Iranians within Iran and Iranians overseas cheer the destruction of the autocrats and reports come in that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, China “Calls for Immediate Ceasefire” (Bloomberg, February 28, 2026).
“China is highly concerned about the US and Israel’s military strikes against Iran,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. “China calls for an immediate cessation of military operations, to avoid further escalation of tensions, to resume dialogue and negotiations, and to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East.”
As we all know, China and Iran, also Hezbollah and Hamas, serve as the ultimate guarantors of peace and stability in the Middle East and invariably negotiate in good faith. ←sarcasm
China has strengthened diplomatic and economic ties with Tehran in recent years, although it has no formal alliance with the Islamic Republic. Xi supported Iran’s bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization security club in 2023, as well as its ascension to the BRICS bloc—groupings Beijing has bolstered to challenge US power on the world stage….
While Beijing buys some 90% of Iran’s oil exports in defiance of US sanctions, the Middle East nation is ultimately a replaceable energy partner for China….
Although Beijing signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement in 2021, which included a reported $400 billion in Chinese investment pledges, implementation of that deal has been weak. China’s economic interests in the wider Gulf region now far outweigh its economic ties to Iran.
Of course, even if the PRC can readily replace the oil it gets from Iran with other oil, it would like as many anti-West terror-promoting states as possible to remain in power. The People’s Republic of China has ideological-spiritual as well as economic ties to fellow thug regimes.
The Lowry Institute suggests that President Trump is pursuing an indirect strategy against China and Russia. “The core goal remains to restore absolute American superiority over China and Russia. But Trump wants to avoid confronting these major rivals directly. He is rather working to isolate Beijing and Moscow from their international partners and deprive them of any major means of external support” (February 23, 2026, via Instapundit).
The surprise arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to face charges in a New York court of conspiring to traffic cocaine to the United States has markedly changed the security environment in Central and South America. The restructured Venezuelan government, along with those of Colombia, Panama and Mexico, are now coordinating their security more closely with relevant US agencies….
With Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba now stopped, the long-running economic crisis in Havana is coming to a head with transport, electricity, some foods and even water being rationed. The Communist regime may soon collapse….
Iran is another weakened authoritarian state that is vulnerable to precision intervention by the United States and its allies. If, as seems likely, the US strikes Iranian nuclear and leadership targets in coming weeks, the regime will probably fall to a renewed public revolt.
The Iranian regime could fall.
Also see:
Goldie Ghamari: “Teenage boys in Iran react to seeing Israel and the United States attack the Islamic Regime”
“ ‘I feel amazing! I love Trump!’ ”
