China-Brokered Deal Between Iran and Saudi Arabia Is About Energy: Expert

A man holds a local newspaper reporting on the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in the Iranian capital Tehran on March 11, 2023. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

China’s effort in brokering the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal is about energy, according to Aryeh Lightstone, former special envoy for the Abraham Accords and senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021.

Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 that they would resume diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China.

Lightstone called it “a brilliant move by China,” referring to its mediation of the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal.

“At the end of the day, regardless of what somebody tells you about green and natural resources, and whatever else it will be, energy is what makes the world go round. And in between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and their relationship with Russia right now, China has a very strong hold on energy supply for the near and not so near future,” he recently told “China in Focus” on NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times.

“And because China put themselves in a power position with Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, China is guaranteeing itself the ability to fuel literally its future expansion while putting themselves in a position to cut off their challengers or enemies, even like the United States of America, from being able to have the fuel and the energy that we may need.

“So what the Trump administration knew was that the Middle East has an enormous opportunity for success and peace and prosperity, and they’re leveraging our absence from the region,” he said.

According to Lightstone, the deal has a devastating effect on the United States as Beijing only swept in at the last minute while Washington has had enormous influence in the Middle East for a significant amount of time, especially with its allies, like Riyadh.

He said the recent diplomatic efforts illustrate that China’s communist regime is not retreating. “China’s advancing, and people should be aware of that,” he noted.

No Change From Iran

Lightstone pointed to the report on strikes in Gaza, with allegedly Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Lebanon firing at Israel right after the deal was struck, saying that the agreement would not moderate Iran’s behavior.

“Nobody should think for half a second that anything that Iran does on the international stage will moderate their behavior. They struck the Iran deal; they became a larger funder of terrorism than they were beforehand because they had more money to fund terrorism.

“And so we’re not going to see Iran change and suddenly become this welcome guest in the community of nations. They’re going to continue to try to hold their ironclad grasp amongst their people,” he said.

Inconsistent Policies

According to Lightstone, Washington’s inconsistent policies toward the Middle East have confused the countries in the region.

“The Middle East is getting whiplash, trying to understand what U.S. foreign policy is. They see Obama’s policy [as] running to Iran. They see Trump’s policy [as] running away from Iran. They see Biden’s policy [as] running back to Iran. And they’re like, ‘What are we supposed to do over here?’ They’re not interested in being involved in this ping-pong game. They’re looking for strong, consistent policy, and the United States of America has failed to deliver on that,” he said.

He further urged for more explicit policies toward the region.

“We should hold our funding of the Palestinian Authority until they get terrorism under control. That sends a message not just to the Palestinian terrorists, but it sends a message to the broader Middle East that we are not only going to say something ... we’re going to back it up,” he said.

Lightstone called on the United States to stop negotiating with Iran immediately on the nuclear deal, which the Biden administration is trying to reenter after the Trump administration terminated it.

“We should tell them that they are out … until they give up their nukes—not for a short while but for good. These are basic things that we should be able to articulate very clearly. And if we do that, all of the other countries in the region will be able to follow our lead,” he said.