Iran has enriched their uranium to 20 percent, which has been widely criticized by Europe. “We are highly concerned by the measures taken by Iran. This action is in breach of Iran’s nuclear commitments and will have serious implications,” the European Commission told a briefing. Iran says their actions fall under the legislation mandated by their parliament. Iran, under the nuclear deal, was capped at 3.67 percent. In may of 2019 Iran decided to gradually scale down their commitments in response to shortcomings by other parties of the nuclear deal. After the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated, parliament passed a bill that obligates the government to increase the enrichment, therefore allowing the 20 percent. China has been on record of speaking out suggesting both sides should try to prevent unwanted tensions.
Iran’s position in the nuclear deal is interesting. They have pushed the limits. Iran may break out of the nuclear deal. If that happens, how will the other parties react? There is a possibility of other countries leaving the deal, due to the failure of Iran to stay and hold their commitment. As if a child were to say, “It’s not fair! If they get to stay home, I get to too!” Or, Iran’s actions could cause a dispute within the deal, arguing about what to do about Iran and possibly dealing with countries who also want similar increases such as Iran. Either way, for Iran and European relations, we can expect to see some instability. Iran’s actions are important to take notice of for countries like the U.S, because the U.S will want to keep close watch and ensure their own world dominance.
China is known for supporting Iran in most cases. Although, in this article China has spoken out neutrally telling both sides to consider the tensions. This could be just a general statement, and really, China does not worry over Iran’s actions, but rather approves them (assuming from historical events). Why would China do this Geopolitically? Why do they want Iran as their ally? Iran is in the Persian Gulf, which has natural resources and oil. An alliance in that area is beneficial to China. Iran’s location also benefits China’s military strategy. China’s global power rival, the United States, has military bases set in Kuwait and Qatar, so China would naturally want to keep close and observe.