China Tightens Hold on Iraq's Oil with Al-Faw Refinery Nearing Completion

Back in early 2018 when rumours were rife that then-U.S. President Donald Trump was going to unilaterally withdraw his country from the ‘nuclear deal’ with Iran, China moved to position itself to occupy the vacuum that would be left in Iran and Iraq, at the very heart of the Middle East. Beijing knew that Iran continued to wield enormous influence over neighbouring Iraq, and that both together were the biggest oil and gas prize in the entire region, in addition to being at the vanguard of the Shia strand of Islam. In Iran’s case,…