Latest news with #SethCropsey
Wall Street Journal
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Where Was Xi Jinping in Iran's Hour of Need?
Seth Cropsey is right that Israeli strikes on Iran have given the U.S. a strategic opening ('Israel Hands America an Opportunity in the Mideast,' op-ed, June 17). Yet the dividend runs beyond the Gulf. China's crisis response—limited to statements, with no tangible support for Tehran—further exposed the gap between Beijing's great-power rhetoric and its reach, an imbalance Washington should press while the Trump-brokered cease-fire holds. After Beijing and Tehran inked their 2021 'comprehensive partnership,' Iran expected a bulwark. It got a bystander. China's representative to the U.N. called Israel's raid a 'dangerous precedent,' and China Daily—the Communist Party's English-language mouthpiece—referred to the 'reckless actions' of Israel's 'war machine.' But Beijing sent Tehran no drones or missile parts, extended no emergency credit and floated no credible peace plan—proof that its promises vanish when real costs loom.
Wall Street Journal
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Israel Shouldn't Fall for the Azeri Trojan Horse
In their March 15 op-ed 'Azerbaijan Is Israel's New Friend in the Muslim World,' Seth Cropsey and Joseph Epstein argue that the U.S. and Israel should include Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords. Their goal to counter Iran is noble but their prescription is naïve. There are two Azerbaijans: a fictional one that Baku shows visitors and a real one it hides. Take its relations with Iran. Azerbaijan's lobbyists say the two countries are adversaries, but behind the scenes they're partners. In 2021 Baku signed a gas swap deal with Tehran, helping to relieve Iranian authorities from Washington's 'maximum pressure.' Armenia trades with Iran as a matter of necessity due to a blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Azerbaijan's trade with Iran is nearly as high but a matter of choice.
