Epoch Times - How Operation Epic Fury Has Disrupted the CCP’s Strategy in the Middle East

March 6, 2026 - Epoch Times

00:51

How Operation Epic Fury Has Disrupted the CCP’s Strategy in the Middle East | Zineb Riboua

Zineb Riboua argues China relies on Iran to weaken the U.S. in the Middle East, utilizing a military arsenal and proxy Houthis to blockade the Red Sea. However, Operation Epic Fury disrupts this calculus by countering these efforts. Ultimately, the operation threatens Beijing's strategy of rising through American decline, suggesting the CCP's regional ambitions face significant reversal. [Automatically generated summary]
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	Your contention is this whole Iran thing, the whole Iran thing is all about China and the rise of the Indo-Pacific Century.
	Give me that thesis as succinctly as you can as we finish.
	I would say that China cannot rise without having the United States weakened in one of the most important regions in the world, being the Middle East.
	Iran has been that tool.
	China has built Iran's military arsenal.
	It has collaborated extensively with its proxies, especially the Houthis who are doing this blockade in the Red Sea.
	And reversing that calculus is what Operation Epic Fury doing.

Time

Text

Your contention is this whole Iran thing, the whole Iran thing is all about China and the rise of the Indo-Pacific Century.

Give me that thesis as succinctly as you can as we finish.

I would say that China cannot rise without having the United States weakened in one of the most important regions in the world, being the Middle East.

Iran has been that tool.

China has built Iran's military arsenal.

It has collaborated extensively with its proxies, especially the Houthis who are doing this blockade in the Red Sea.

And reversing that calculus is what Operation Epic Fury doing.