Лев и дракон: новый этап китайско-иранского стратегического партнёрства

There is speculation that Iran's search for other regional alliances and a new partnership agreement between Iran and China may have been facilitated by New Delhi's refusal to buy Iranian oil in 2019 to please Washington and further strengthen its military-strategic ties with its adversary, Israel, also news of New Delhi's interest in participating in the Israeli-led Trans-Arab Corridor (TAP), aimed at connecting India with Eurasia through Israel and several Arab states hostile to Iran [27].

In any case, China's participation in Iran and the full integration of Tehran into the BRI structure could weaken Pakistan's main rival, India, and open up a strategic space for Islamabad to effectively counter political and security threats. Better relations between Tehran and Islamabad with Beijing's support could help pacify the armed uprising of ethnic separatists in Baluchistan by the two countries. China's presence in Iran would mean that the Iranian port city of Chabahar will not compete with Pakistani Gwadar, and India's expulsion from Iran would mean that transit trade from Afghanistan and Central Asia will continue through Pakistani ports [27].