The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Persia, once the overlord of the Gulf.

The Persian army, known as the 'Lion of the Middle East', is one of the most powerful forces in the Middle East.

Persia, located in the southwest of Asia, is a country with an extremely important and unique geographical location. Its geographical characteristics are not only reflected in its vast territory and diverse terrain, but also in its complex geopolitical environment and strategic position.

Persia has a vast territory with a total area of ​​164.5 million square kilometers. It is an important country in West Asia. Its terrain is mainly plateaus and mountains. The Persian Plateau occupies most of the country. The altitude is generally between 900 and 1500 meters. It is surrounded by mountains and the interior is relatively gentle. In the north is the Alborz Mountains, with the highest peak, Mount Damavand, reaching an altitude of 5670 meters; in the west is the Zagros Mountains, which is like a natural barrier separating Iran from its neighbors. In addition, Iran also has vast desert areas, such as the Lut Desert and the Kavir Desert. Although these desert areas have harsh environments, they also constitute Iran's unique natural landscape.

Its geographical location is extremely important. It borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to the north, Turkey and Iraq to the west, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, and the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to the south. This geographical location makes Iran an important bridge and hub connecting the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and the Mediterranean region.

However, this also puts Iran in a complex geopolitical environment.

On the one hand, Iran has territorial disputes and ethnic conflicts with many of its neighbors, such as the Shatt al-Arab River dispute with Iraq, the Kurdish issue with Turkey, and the Baloch issue with Pakistan. These disputes and conflicts not only affect Iran's relations with its neighbors, but also exacerbate regional instability.

On the other hand, Iran's geopolitical importance has also made it the focus of the game between major powers. The United States and other Western countries have always regarded Iran as an unstable factor in the Middle East and have taken various measures to suppress and sanction it. Iran, on the other hand, insists on its independent foreign policy and strives to play a greater role in regional and international affairs.

Liu Tao came to Persia this time because of the importance of Persia.

It is precisely because of Persia that the Afghan guerrillas can have sufficient supplies. This supply is not only reflected in the supply of materials, but also in the supply of personnel. Many Muslims go to Afghanistan as volunteers to join the guerrillas, and they all enter Afghanistan through Persia.

Similarly, it was precisely because of Persia that Saddam and others were still persisting instead of being eliminated.

Over the years, the United States has organized its military to eliminate the remnants of Saddam’s regime in order to stabilize the entire Iraq, but all efforts have ended in failure.

It is impossible to deploy a large army to fight in a mountainous area with complex terrain.

As for bombing, missile attacks and other means, their effects seem to be minimal.

What even shocked the whole world was that the remnant of Saddam’s regime could still connect to the world.

This kind of networking does not rely solely on Internet satellites, but more importantly, it accesses the world's Internet through the network on the Persian side.

If Persia sided with the United States, it would definitely be a huge blow to the Afghan guerrillas and the remnants of Saddam's regime in Iraq.

Arriving in Tehran and starting from the airport, we could see cars and motorcycles from China everywhere along the way.

Persia has a very weak industrial base, and the cars and motorcycles it produces are far from comparable to those of China. Persia's automobile and motorcycle industries are more focused on repairing cars and motorcycles.

The whole of Persia is filled with goods from China.

It can be said that all the goods Persia needs can be imported from China.

Because of the United States, other countries did not dare to trade openly with Persia. There were only a few countries that Persia could trade with, and there was no doubt that China was the largest in size.

Liu Tao arrived in Persia and was warmly welcomed with the highest diplomatic etiquette.

Perhaps due to some influences, the entire social atmosphere in Persia has recovered and is not as advertised by Europe and the United States.

Even Persia is the leader in infrastructure in the entire Middle East.

Over the years, Persia has made remarkable achievements in highways, railways, water transport and air transport. In Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries, most of the workers who China undertakes projects have to be mobilized from China, because people in these countries simply cannot bear the hardship of doing projects and the relatively low wages for doing projects.

But it is different in Persia. Most of the workers in the projects undertaken by Chinese companies are Persians. Persians are able to endure hardships and are willing to endure hardships, but the wages they need to be paid are far less than those of Chinese workers.

The cooperation between the two sides has been very close since the 80s.

If it weren't for this kind of cooperation, Persia would not have been able to recover from the damage caused by the Iran-Iraq War alone, let alone the current relatively peaceful environment.

After the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Persia has actually enjoyed 20 years of peace.

Persia's GDP is not low, its social welfare system is relatively complete, and the living standards of Persians are also quite good.

After arriving in Tehran, Liu Tao gave a lecture at Tehran University the next day.

The University of Tehran is the oldest and largest institution of higher learning in Persia, and also the best university in Persia.

There are Chinese students studying as exchange students at the University of Tehran, and there are also Chinese scholars studying as visiting scholars at the University of Tehran.

This was Liu Tao's first visit to the University of Tehran, and his arrival was warmly welcomed by the teachers and students of the University of Tehran.

His lecture was scheduled in the auditorium, which was packed.

The lecture was originally planned to last for an hour and a half, but due to the enthusiasm of the teachers and students of Tehran University, it lasted for a full three hours.

Liu Tao's lecture covered academic aspects as well as the political, economic, and military aspects of both sides.

In Persia, major cities are also connected to the Internet.

Persian intellectuals also learn about the world through the Internet.

Every year, many Chinese people travel to Persia. Likewise, every year, Persian students go to China to study and scholars go to China as visiting scholars. Every year, Persian people also travel to China.

The communication between the two sides is very close.

The news of Liu Tao's arrival in Persia quickly spread throughout Persia and was then reported by mainstream media around the world.

Liu Tao stayed in Persia for a total of five days. They discussed various aspects of cooperation, and then the two sides issued a joint statement.

Privately, Liu Tao met with Saddam and the two had a private meeting.

After leaving Persia, Liu Tao did not return to China directly, but went from Persia to Islamabad, Pakistan.

This is Liu Tao's first visit to Islamabad.

Pakistan personally welcomed Liu Tao at the airport with the highest level of etiquette. (End of this chapter)