Israel-Iran conflict: China may ‘strike us' through proxies after Iran setback, Gordon Chang warns
In the wake of Israel's sweeping military strikes on Iran, foreign policy analysts suggest that China may be the conflict's biggest geopolitical loser.
'Iran being set back on its heels by Israel means nothing is off the table for China and its military advances,' said Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, in an interview on Fox Business Network's Varney & Co on Friday.
According to Chang, Iran has long served as a vehicle for China's foreign policy goals in the Middle East. 'The Chinese… they're losing their proxy, Iran. Iran has been accomplishing China's foreign policy goals for quite some time. And China's Middle East policy is now in disarray,' he stated.
The comments came after the Israel defense forces launched Operation Rising Lion, a large-scale assault targeting Iran's nuclear and missile infrastructure.
Explosions were reported in Tehran overnight Friday, as Israel responded to months of failed nuclear negotiations. A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Israel in anticipation of Iranian retaliation.
Chang warned that China may not quietly accept the blow to its regional ambitions. 'This is a point where China is suffering a terrible loss in the Middle East,' he said. 'It is not going to take that lying down, and it's probably going to get Iran or some other party to strike us.'
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China's support for Iran has been extensive, particularly through oil and weapons trade. 'China was supporting the attacks on Israel across the board with elevated commodity purchases,' Chang explained. 'Remember, China has taken more than 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, but also provided weapons support.'
He added that Chinese-made arms are widespread among Iran-backed militias. 'Hamas, Houthi militia, Hezbollah, all of them have large quantities of Chinese weapons.
Iran's weapons are made with China's computer chips,' he noted.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump weighed in on the conflict via Truth Social, warning that Israel's next round of strikes could be 'even more brutal' if Iran does not return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. 'There has already been great death and destruction,' Trump said, 'but there is still time to make this slaughter… come to an end.'
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