What is the Saudi-Iran deal brokered by China?

 In this blog we are going to discuss the deal from the perspective of all three countries:

From Iran's Perspective

The Iran-Saudi Arabia deal that was announced last Friday was a deal which brokered by China to restore relative between the two countries. this deal on restoring ties was a good news for the Iranian government, which has faced a daunting array of challenges in early 2023 and before as well for its human rights record, controversial nuclear program and support Russia's war in Ukraine. So, it was seen a diplomatic victory for Tehran both the countries has been involved in a proxy war in Yemen and Syria. In Yemen, Iran has armed and aided the Houthis, while the Saudi military launched an air war in 2015 to prevent a complete rebels. Now Iran has agreed to stop arming the Houthis, although it was not including in the joint statement by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi visited China in February 2023, during the talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, "Constructive ideas for region were discussed and now they bear fruit "twitted by Mohammed Jamshid Raisi's deputy chief of staff for political affair on march to this visit was the first formal state visit to Beijing in more than 20 years. The agreement also may yield some domestic reprieve. Both countries affirmed their respect for the "Sovereignty of State" and 'non-interference in internal matters' The agreement was also a welcome economic boost, at least in the short run. After the death of Mahasa Amini in police detention  in Sep 2022 which caused nation wide protests and march 2023, the Rial had lost about half of its value against the US dollar from Saudi's perspective. 

From Saudi Arabia's perspective

The involvement of China in the deal is a sign of ongoing change in global dynamics. the Saudi and other middle east countries feel confident in the security guarantee of the US as critical infrastructure of Saudi and UAE has been attacked several times while the united states has been seen as recalibrating its role in the region. So, the Saudi's believe that rather than buying expensive US weapons, they could use the influence of China and Russia over Iran to bolster their security.  China provides Saudi Arabia an alternative other the US as they have huge leverage ore Iran and China's involvement is yet another single that Saudi Arabia is serious about divesifying.

From China's perspective

For years, China has been a top oil importer for both Iran and Saudi so for the safe passage of oil and good, it wants stability in the Persian gulf. This agreement has given China a considerable diplomatic victory to get these two middle rivals to sign a peace deal. This deal is the beginning of China as an alternative to the United States in global affairs Since the beginning of the Russia's invasion

 of Ukraine every country is concerned about their energy needs, so as China's, as it get 40% of its crude oil from the gulf. In December, during Xi Jinping visit to Saudi Arabia, he pledged purchase more oil and gas from the gulf. This the beginning of the same policy that the US started in the mid 20th century from which petrodollar is derived, which means that US dollar will be standard currency used in energy transactions. China has recently secured an arrangement with Iraq and other countries have considered the option of using Yuan in energy transaction with China.

Conclusion

As the rivalry between Washington and Beijing intensifies, the United States has restricted China's access to western technology. So, China need to look elsewhere for stable flows of trade, technology and energy. This agreement symbolizes about the US role in the middle east and China's effort to be as an alternative to the US in the global order. Despite US being the major external power for more than 75 Years, but US is not in the position to broker this agreement as their ties with Saudi Arabia is not as good as they used to be and Iran is Washington's decade old adversary. Although US remains the very defense and security actor in the region. The US has welcomed the agreement immediately despite its confrontational relations with China, saying if it brought lasting peace, it did not matter who brokered it.