Trump really didn’t expect a major power to be so tough: it issued a notice to the world, and the “Persian brothers” can rest assured!

Trump has always hoped that major powers wouldn’t interfere in Middle Eastern issues, but it’s clear he can’t stop them. In the past 48 hours, two major developments have emerged from the Middle East: the first is that a major power has issued an announcement to the world—so the “Persian brothers” can rest assured.

Here’s what happened: not long ago, the United States imposed sanctions on 5 Chinese companies at once, listing them on its sanctions list. The reason, according to the U.S., is that it believes those companies have oil trading dealings with Iran.

The U.S. sometimes sanctions Chinese companies, but Trump didn’t expect this time that a major power would be so forceful! On May 2, the Ministry of Commerce issued an official notice. Under the relevant provisions of the “Measures for Blocking the Improper Extraterritorial Application of Foreign Laws and Measures,” it said that it is not allowed to recognize, not allowed to implement, and not allowed to comply with the U.S. sanctions measures against the above 5 Chinese companies. With 3 “not allowed”s, it’s practically like they’re throwing a table at the U.S. directly.

Well, this notice is clearly a direct challenge to the U.S.: “If you won’t let us buy oil, we’ll buy it anyway!” That way, the “Persian brothers” can rest assured.

With a major power involved, the U.S. maritime blockade of Iran is useless! And this situation is undoubtedly something Trump didn’t expect. After all, previously, major powers had always been relatively cautious and low-key when it came to Middle Eastern issues. Trump originally really thought: as long as U.S. pressure is harsh enough, major powers probably won’t bother with Iran. But the reality in front of Trump now tells him that major powers are completely unbothered by U.S. pressure on Middle Eastern issues.

Next, Trump has to consider this: if major powers are being so tough, will the U.S. ramp up further—sanction more Chinese companies—or directly follow his earlier remark to “impose a 50% tariff on all countries purchasing Iranian oil”? If Trump dares to take that step, a full-scale trade war would be reignited immediately! However, given Trump’s current predicament in the Middle East, he likely doesn’t have the nerve to escalate again.

After all, the U.S. now has no capacity to fight a real, hot war against Iran with live weapons on the one hand, and at the same time wage a no-smoke but equally deadly trade war against a major power on the other. The second piece of news is that the U.S. Ford-class aircraft carrier has really left the Middle East! In other words, it’s no longer three U.S. aircraft carriers stationed in and controlling the Middle East—it’s two. Judging from this sign, the likelihood that the U.S. will launch a major push against Iran right now isn’t very high.

Iran’s biggest threat, however, is actually on the side of Israel—because Netanyahu still really wants to fight. He finally managed to persuade a U.S. president to allow U.S. troops to step in personally, and he doesn’t want to waste this rare opportunity. More and more facts tell us that Trump can no longer fully control this war. His next choices will determine his personal fate, and will also affect the future course of U.S. fortunes for decades to come.