Beijing Cautions US Over Iran

[Purveyor]

Source: Asia Times

By M K Bhadrakumar

China has broken silence on the developing situation in Iran. This comes against the backdrop of a discernible shift in Washington's posturing toward political developments in Iran.

The government-owned China Daily featured its main editorial comment on Thursday titled "For Peace in Iran". It comes amid reports in the Western media that the former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is rallying the Qom clergy to put pressure on the Guardians Council - and, in turn, on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - to annul last Friday's presidential election that gave Mahmud Ahmadinejad another four-year term.

Beijing fears a confrontation looming and counsels Obama to keep the pledge in his Cairo speech not to repeat such errors in the US's Middle East policy as the overthrow of the elected government of Mohammed Mosaddeq in Iran in 1953. Beijing also warns about letting the genie of popular unrest get out of the bottle in a highly volatile region that is waiting to explode. Tehran on Friday saw its sixth day of massive protests by supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, whom they say was cheated out of victory.

A parallel with Thailand

Meanwhile, China's special envoy on Middle East, Wu Sike, is setting out on an extensive fortnight-long regional tour on Saturday (which, significantly, will be rounded off with consultations in Moscow) to fathom the political temperature in capitals as varied as Cairo and Tel Aviv, Amman and Damascus, and Beirut and Ramallah.

Beijing also made a political statement when a substantive bilateral was scheduled between President Hu Jintao and Ahmadinejad on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Read more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KF20Ak03.html

[TheCoxwain]

1. Their Nighmare scenario ..

US supporting a popular uprising

[pscot]

4. Their nightmare scenario

is the Chinese peple rising up like the Iranians. They're projecting.

[Bankhead_ATL]

2. Obama please stay on the side lines on this issue

F the Repugs

[bdamomma]

3. Welcome to DU!!

Kissinger even said he is doing the right thing. We all be better off to stay away from this one.

[Wizard777]

5. There is no color in transparency. If Ahamadinejad truly won. Don't tell them that. Show them!

A color revolution of the people would not survive the Governments transparency. They will clearly see Ahamadinejad won. For the color revolution to continue they would be forced to admit it has nothing to do with the truth of the election. But the government hides behind the dark opaqueness of secrecy. That tells the people Ahmadinejad didn't win and the election was not about their vote. We all know what the 800 lb. gorilla in the room is. Why they will not allow the people to choose their leadership at this time. Unlike China and Russia we are staying out of their election. But we will never allow that 800 lb. gorilla to go on a rampage through the Middle East. Right now this is our only interest in Iran. Yes they released the genii from the bottle. That is never a bad thing. But we cannot allow them to release Djinn from his bottle. That can never be a good thing.

[ohio2007]

6. Democracy over, buisness as usual. China doesn't want to risk its oil flow being constricted. nt

[Deja Q]

7. Or what, they'll send more cheap, breakable, toxic goods?

:sarcasm:

Half-sarcasm, actually, I think China has a very valid point.

I think they're right in counseling Obama as such; the US (and other countries) probably should keep out of Iran's mess until they get their house in order. (Whatever one's emotions are, convince us that waltzing in right now would be a good thing.)

The US does not need to be blamed for meddling.

If Ahmadinajad remains their leader, then we go from there - regardless of that outcome. We should not meddle, for that will worsen our already tarnished image as a country. We have our own problems; we can only do so much with other countries and in a case like this, interference needs a very good reason.

My two cents, for what it's all worth.

[ohio2007]

8. World just got four more years of wackjob and his mindless screeds. Iranians are proud of him

his new boasts on how he plans to "Improve the world"..... after the next round of spy executions of course should be announced in a few days

from al Jazeera

Ahmadinejad won; get over it

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/39/Ahmadinejad_won_get_over_it.html

Permission denied for Saturday rallies

No permission has been granted to Iranian Reformist groups to hold a Saturday rally in protest at the presidential election results, says Tehran's governor general. "I hope that this rally will not be held as no legal permission has been granted for this rally," Morteza Tamadon said on Friday.

Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's National Confidence Party (Hezb-e Etemad-e Melli) as well as the Association of Combatant Clerics (Majma'-e Rowhaniyun-e Mobarez) had asked for authorization to hold rallies on Saturday in protest at the June 12 election results.

Iranian authorities have so far refused to authorize rallies, which have been held on a daily basis since the Interior Ministry announced the results only hours after the polls closed.
Saturday's march scheduled to be held from 4 to 7 p.m. (1230 to 1530 GMT). The rally is dubbed 'from Revolution to Freedom' - a reference to the starting point (Enqelab Square) and the finishing point (Azadi Square) of the demonstration

snip
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/34/Permission_denied_for_Saturday_rallies.html

7:30 to 10:30 US eastern time tomorrow morning is the wake up call




imo

twitter will go critical mass at that time

[riverdeep]

9. Of course. China has memories of Tiananmen Square.

They are very good at subverting mass democracy movements. It's clear to the world, if it wasn't already, that there is no such thing as democracy in Iran. They give people a little voice to placate them, but when actual democracy threatens, the whip comes down. China just wants business as usual, keep the people down and the money flowing.

Still, unlike what the Republicans want, there is nothing we can do overtly, except what Obama is doing- saying what he thinks without outright hostility.