There was a balance in the relations between China and Iran for the last two decades. Instead of selling arms directly, China continued to help Iran indirectly. After the start of the war, the attention of American officials has again turned to this. Intelligence agencies are investigating whether China has sent shoulder-fired missiles to Iran. According to American officials, the evidence is not yet conclusive. If this turns out to be true, it will be considered a major change in China’s strategy in the Middle East. US President Trump has said that if this proves to be true then 50% additional tariff will be imposed on goods coming from China. China called the allegation false and said it would retaliate if tariffs were imposed. China provides arms accessories, not arms directly. China sold arms to Iran on a large scale in the 1980s, but it almost stopped in the last 10 years. The biggest reason for this is international pressure. After 2006, the United Nations imposed strict sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Under these, it became difficult for any country to supply arms directly to Iran. America also imposed economic and trade sanctions, which may harm countries that provide military aid to Iran. For this reason China changed its strategy. Instead of giving weapons directly, it started giving ‘dual-use’ i.e. such technology and goods which can be used for both civil and military purposes. For example, in this way China avoids selling arms directly, but keeps helping in strengthening Iran’s military capability. Now know how the military aid given to Iran by China changed over time… 1980: Earned profits by selling weapons in Iran-Iraq war. Iran-Iraq war started in 1980. At the same time, economic reforms were taking place in China. Government companies were told not to depend on the government, but to earn profits on their own. This also affected the defense sector. Earlier, the companies which used to make weapons only for the country, now got the freedom to sell weapons to outside countries. Between 1982 and 1987, China sold missiles, fighter planes, tanks, armored vehicles and rifles to Iran. The interesting thing was that China also sold arms to Iraq. Both the enemy countries were attacking each other with Chinese weapons. For China it was purely a matter of trade. He was earning money from both sides. 1987: Pressure on China increased after attack on US ship. In 1987, attacks on ships carrying oil in the Persian Gulf increased. Meanwhile, Iran attacked an oil tanker near Kuwait using a Chinese missile. This was an American ship. This was the first time that America felt that the weapons sold to China were harming it. In response, America banned the sale of high-tech technology and equipment to China. Because it could be used in the military field. This was a big blow for China, because it was dependent on Western technology. China said it is not selling arms directly to Iran, but will tighten restrictions on exports so that arms do not reach Iran from ‘third countries’. 1990: China helped Iran to make indigenous missiles. After the war ended in 1988, Iran had understood that foreign weapons could not be trusted. Therefore, it tried to increase its own defense capability, in which China helped. Iran developed the Noor anti-ship missile, which was reverse engineered from the Chinese C-802 missile. This missile flies at low altitude, making it difficult to catch. It could also be fired from the sea shore. It was suitable for targeting ships. This increased Iran’s maritime power, especially in the Persian Gulf. China not only provided designs or missiles to Iran, but also helped in building the entire infrastructure. Due to this, Iran was gradually able to produce its own weapons and did not have to depend on purchasing from outside. 2002: Iran’s nuclear program was revealed. In the year 2002, it was revealed that Iran is secretly running a nuclear program. Two places in particular stood out. Natanz (Uranium Enrichment Plant) and Arak (Heavy Water Reactor). This information was very important, because Iran had not given information about these sites to international agencies. Iran said that its nuclear program is only for generating electricity and for peace purposes. But America and many Western countries suspected that Iran was working towards making nuclear weapons. After this revelation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sought answers from Iran and started an investigation. In 2003, IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran and found that Iran had been working on uranium enrichment for a long time. Many activities were being carried out without disclosure and some equipment and technology were brought secretly from abroad. During the investigation it was also revealed that Iran had earlier acquired nuclear technology from the Pakistani Scientific Network (A.Q. Khan Network). He did experiments on centrifuge (uranium enrichment machine). Information about some of these experiments was not given to the IAEA. Although the IAEA did not find concrete evidence of direct nuclear weapons production at the time, hiding information, building secret sites, and working on enrichment techniques led the world to suspect that Iran’s intentions may not be solely peaceful. 2006: When sanctions were imposed on Iran, the method of help changed. After this, in 2006, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which were supported by China. China’s compulsion was that on one hand it did not want to spoil its economic relations with America and Western countries, on the other hand it also wanted to maintain its strategic relations with Iran. Therefore China changed its course. He stopped giving direct weapons and instead started giving equipment which could be used in two ways. America alleges that some companies of China and Hong Kong are helping in procuring such parts for Iran, on which the US Treasury has also imposed sanctions. According to America, some ‘front companies’ are formed in China and Hong Kong. Front company means a company which buys goods for someone else by hiding its real work. These companies buy parts and chemicals from different countries. On paper it is shown that this goods is for some general industry, but in reality this goods is transported to Iran. These include electronic parts used in making missiles, navigation systems and sensors for drones, chemicals and metals and machine tools for making rocket fuel. They are used for both common and military purposes, hence they are difficult to catch. Report: Iran is using Chinese satellite system Now a new concern is that Iran can use China’s Baidu satellite system, which is an alternative to GPS. According to US reports, Iran may have used it in its missile and drone attacks in the Middle East. Just like America has GPS, Baidu is China’s own satellite navigation system. This system tells the exact location of any place, shows the path and helps the weapons to reach the target. Now the concern is that Iran could use it in military attacks. A report by an organization linked to the US Congress said that Iran may have used Chinese navigation in some of its drone and missile attacks in the Middle East. This makes its strike capability (attack power) more accurate and dangerous than before. This is a matter of concern for America because it increases Iran’s military strength. However, China has termed these allegations as completely false. ———————————- Also read this news related to Iran war… After Hormuz, Trump now eyes Malacca Strait: Defense agreement signed with Indonesia, American military aircraft allowed to go to Indonesian territory. Currently, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is very tense. America is taking strict action against the activities of ships related to Iran there. Meanwhile, a new defense agreement has been signed between America and Indonesia on April 13. But questions are being raised regarding its timing. Read the full news here…
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