We found a number of very interesting articles published by the media of the wider Mediterranean region that provide important insights into some of the most interesting aspects of China’s relations with the countries there. Though we selected articles published by the media of a number of countries for this month’s review, the most interesting ones were those from Iran and Lebanon.

Iran

Beginning with Iran, a journalist from Diplomasi-e Irani interviewed Mohsen Ruhi-Sefat, a former diplomat with experience in various Southeast Asian countries, about the 25-year agreement with China. Ruhi-Sefat defends the agreement and the work of the Iranian leadership against the various criticisms that have been voiced by domestic and international public opinion. Domestically, the article reports that the agreement with China has been commonly framed as the “Second Turkmenchay,” a reference to the agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War and transferred the possession of different areas in the South Caucasus to the Russian Empire. Interestingly, another article published by Tabnak includes Russia among those against the Sino-Iranian plan.