An Axis alliance

China, Iran eye deal

China and Iran are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating an economic and security partnership that could mean billions of dollars in investments for Tehran.

Through the agreement, Beijing would provide investments in banking, telecommunication, ports and railways — a huge boost for the Islamic Republic’s teetering economy — in exchange for Iran supplying oil to China over the next 25 years, according to a draft of the 18page proposal obtained by The New York Times.

It would also allow the two countries to cooperate militarily by engaging in joint training and exercises, as well as by sharing research, weapons development and intelligence to fight “the lopsided battle with terrorism, drug and human trafficking and cross-border crimes,” the proposal said.

The partnership could lead to $400 billion being invested in Iran over the next 25 years.

Any agreement between the two countries would be a blow to the Trump administration, which has sought to isolate Iran after withdrawing in 2018 from the Obamaera nuclear deal.

President Trump also reinstated sanctions against Iran in an effort to choke off its ability to gain revenue by selling oil on the global market.

“Iran and China both view this deal as a strategic partnership in not just expanding their own interests but confronting the US,” Ali Gholizadeh, an Iranian energy researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China in Beijing, told the Times. “It is the first of its kind for Iran keen on having a world power as an ally.”

The State Department said a deal with Iran would violate international sanctions and undermine China’s “own goal of promoting stability and peace.”

“The United States will continue to impose costs on Chinese companies that aid Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” the department said.