Sold Out: Why Even the IRGC is Angry at China’s Economic Stranglehold

While the Iranian regime beats the drums of war, its internal foundation is crumbling under the weight of a catastrophic economic collapse and deep-seated corruption. Decades of Western sanctions have left Tehran with almost no trading partners, forcing it into a predatory relationship with China that experts describe as "master and slave." This desperation has led to a "fire sale" of Iran's natural resources, with the regime selling its crude oil at nearly half the global market price just to keep its bank accounts from freezing completely. The tragedy for the Iranian people is that even these diminished profits are not being used to improve their quality of life, but are instead being funneled into the coffers of Hezbollah and other regional terrorist proxies.

The Chinese Stranglehold

China currently purchases over 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports, roughly 1.38 million barrels a day. However, instead of paying the market rate of $65 per barrel, Beijing exploits Iran's isolation by paying only $30. Furthermore, this money never actually reaches Iran, it is held in Chinese accounts. When Iran needs to buy goods, it must purchase them from China at inflated prices, often three or four times the market value. "This is not an equal relationship," explains Dr. Tamar Eilam Gindin, a specialist on Iran. "China understands its power. They can charge whatever they want because Iran has nowhere else to go."

This economic bleeding is exacerbated by a $35 billion deficit in the national budget. Iran requires $65 billion in annual oil revenue to function, but is currently on track to earn less than half of that. Despite this massive shortfall, the regime continues to prioritize its regional war machine, sending over $1 billion to Hezbollah in the last year alone and hundreds of millions more to terrorists in Yemen and Iraq.

Corruption and the Internal Looting

The economic misery is further deepened by "internal pillaging" carried out by senior officials within the Revolutionary Guard. These powerful brokers often sell Iranian oil through third-party partners in other countries and simply pocket the proceeds, never transferring the money back to the state treasury. To bypass the global banking system, the regime resorts to primitive and risky methods of exchange, including laundering gold through Venezuela and using northern money-changing routes through Turkey. This combination of Chinese exploitation, state-sponsored terror funding, and rampant internal theft has created a powderkeg of public anger that many analysts believe could lead to the regime's downfall even before a single American missile is fired.