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Pompeo's Warning Against Closer China-Iran Ties Highlights Dilemma for
Beijing

Michael Lipin

   WASHINGTON - U.S.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's latest warning that
   China would destabilize the Middle East by deepening ties with U.S. foe
   Iran is raising questions about how far Beijing will go to boost its
   partner Tehran in an emerging deal that would heighten U.S.-China
   tensions.

   "China's entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. It'll put
   Israel at risk. It'll put the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates
   at risk as well,"Pompeo told U.S. TV network Fox News in a Sunday
   interview, as he urged the threeU.S. allies and other regional
   countries to beware of Beijing, one of Washington's main international
   rivals.

   "Iran remains the world's largest state sponsor of terror, and to have
   access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the
   ChineseCommunist Party only compounds that risk for that region,"Pompeo
   added. Tehran, which has armed Islamist militant groups blamed for
   terrorist attacks in the Middle East and beyond for decades, describes
   itself as a terror victim rather than sponsor.

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