Iran wins China’s support in nuclear stand-off

China is offering support for Iran by rejecting U.S. pressure on the IAEA to send Iran’s nuclear issue to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Read the Al Jazeera report here. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing is in Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials. A CNN report is here.

China’s Sinopec recently signed a $70 billion oil and gas deal with Iran. In Asia Times, Kaveh L Afrasiabi, a political scientist at Tehran University, explains that the deal may signal an effort by Iran to create an axis with Russia and China to act as a counterweight to U.S. power.