Shayan Samiei, a national security expert, referring to a Wall Street Journal report on the likelihood of war returning, said the Islamic Republic wants to use the Strait of Hormuz as a way to breathe economically and, by proposing reopening it in the face of a reduction in the blockade, turn the lever of crisis into an economic advantage.

He added that the main problem is the credibility of the Islamic Republic’s commitments, and that China also assesses its support for Tehran based on cost and benefit; in fact, Beijing does not consider the Islamic Republic a “survival insurance” for itself and, if its interests change, it can easily move past it.