Scholar’s Comments Hint That China May Not Have Expected Iran to Strike Israel

Dong Manyuan, a senior fellow in the department of developing countries studies at the China Institute of International Studies, in a recent television appearance to discuss the Iran-Israel crisis.

One of China’s leading foreign policy scholars appeared on national TV last week and firmly declared that Iran would not launch a direct strike on Israel in response to Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria.

Dong Manyuan, a senior fellow and former director of the China Institute of International Studies, an influential think tank operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said unequivocally he didn’t think Tehran would respond the way they actually did.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.