Ukraine War Saps US, NATO’s Power: Iranian General
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – While the war in Ukraine has weakened the US, NATO and Europe and has also harmed Russia’s public diplomacy capabilities, the equation of power has swung in China’s favor, a high-ranking Iranian general said.
In a Wednesday meeting with a group of Iranian commanders and university professors in Tehran, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, provided an analysis of the international situation in the wake of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The war (in Ukraine) has depleted the power of the US, NATO and Europe,” he said.
“Russia has, of course, sustained damages as well. The greatest damage to that country (Russia) has occurred in the field of the world’s public opinion, resulting in the reduction of Russia’s public diplomacy power,” the Iranian general added.
Major General Rahim Safavi also noted that the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the Ukraine war would inflict economic, social and political costs on Russia, the US, and Europe.
The party that takes advantage of the war is China, he stated, saying, “In the current international circumstances, the equations of power on the global scale are changing in China’s favor.”
The general described China as a “growing power and balance weight” that has elevated its standing in the face of the US and Europe.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he described the new Iranian year, which began on March 21, as a year of opportunities for the Islamic Republic in the national, regional and international spheres.
“What is important is that we’d seize the available opportunities with a smart policy,” the general said.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kiev forces.
Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and some other countries responded to Moscow’s move by imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and companies.
