“The Chinese-Iranian alliance presents a unique challenge and dangerous partnership antithetical to American national security interests,” a bipartisan group of 21 members of Congress wrote on Tuesday to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“China is participating in the Iranian oil trade, bolstering Tehran’s ballistic-missile program, supplying drone parts for Russia’s use against Ukraine, and disregarding Iran’s backing of terror groups and their proxies,” the group added in the letter, a copy of which was provided to JNS. “This cannot be tolerated.”
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) led the correspondence, which noted that “despite strict U.S. sanctions designed to curb the regime’s oil trade, China is rapidly increasing its importation of Iranian oil.”
The success of U.S. efforts to eliminate “radical, ideologically motivated terror” and to promote stability and peace in the Middle East “depends on maintaining our strong bilateral relationship with Israel,” the members of Congress added.
“Above all, we must prevent Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons and threatening our greatest ally in the region. Yet, China’s activities in the Middle East make these already complicated challenges more difficult and dangerous,” they wrote. “China is indifferent toward existing sanctions on Iran; Iranian support for Hamas and Hezbollah; and Iran’s continued role as the leading state sponsor of terror.”
