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China Begins to Turn Against Iran
(Telegraph-UK) Malcolm Moore, Henry Samuel and Damien McElroy - After a visit to the Gulf in which he met the leaders of the states most threatened by Iran's aggressive foreign policy, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, issued Beijing's clearest condemnation yet. "China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons," he said. China appears to have sent a message to Iran that it could not rely on Beijing's unstinting support by reducing its imports of oil at a time when the U.S. and Europe are promoting an embargo on the country. Wen's trip to three of the world's biggest oil-and-gas producers was described by some commentators as an attempt to seek alternative energy sources. "Iran must understand that if it comes down to a choice, China will not alienate itself from the rest of the world for the sake of single country," said Yu Guoqing, a researcher on the Middle East at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. With a second front of pressure opening up on Iran over its support for the Syrian regime's crackdown on nationwide protests, Tehran has moved closer to global pariah status. French officials Wednesday told Le Figaro that Iran was training 50 members of Syria's Republican Guard in anti-sedition techniques in Tehran, following a visit to Damascus at the start of the month by Maj.-Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force.