Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf used the first session of the new Persian calendar year to praise the Iran-China deal, which sells off Iran’s natural resources in exchange for helping the ruling system stay in power, and falsely claim that it undermines the United States.
He said: “We stress that we welcome the Comprehensive Iran-China Cooperation Program. The signing of this agreement would be a strategic step if it means believing that the world is not limited to the West and that the next century is the century of Asia. The signing of this document is also an important warning to the United States to realize that international relations are rapidly changing to the detriment of the United States.”
During that same session, many other MPs raised concerns about possible repercussions, with Ali Alizadeh saying that the “lack of transparency” surrounding the deal will not endear it to the public, citing articles of the Constitution that prioritise keeping the public informed.
This agreement, which comes as the Iranian economy is failing after 42 years of corruption and mismanagement, will see China invest $400 billion in various sectors, including telecommunications, healthcare, banking, transport, and IT.
The Iranian opposition wrote: “Basically, the regime has forfeited the country’s economic infrastructure to a foreign power. The little detail that has leaked about the deal reveal it to be so disastrous that even the regime’s own officials are comparing it to the Turkmenchay Treaty, in which the Qajar monarchy ceded large swathes of Iran’s northern reaches to the Russian empire.”
The treaty, according to analysts, has no benefit for Iranians because it liquidates the country’s resources, as well as allowing China to establish a security and military foothold there, and perhaps getting a bit of cash for the mullahs. This allows mullahs to easier keep their grip on power, which will only lead to increased poverty and unemployment. In turn, this makes it more likely that a new uprising will come.
MP Ahmad Alireza Beigi said: “If the mistakes of the past are not compensated and no solution is found to change the current situation, great damage will await us… The feeling of oppression in the plundered investors in the stock market, anger and rage from the unfortunate consequences of the incident of rising gasoline prices, unbridled inflation, and long queues to buy oil and chicken cannot be ignored. The effects of these catastrophes will be evident in the upcoming elections.
