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FACT SHEET: Operation Epic Fury is a Blow to Communist China
As Operation Epic Fury’s success grows, progressives and their media allies are trying to discredit President Trump’s military campaign with the narrative that striking Iran is a gift to China. But no country is suffering more from Iran’s decimation than China. POLARIS debunks this myth and explains why the road to countering China runs through the Middle East.
Myth: Striking Iran weakens deterrence against China by sucking America into another Middle East quagmire.
Reality: Operation Epic Fury is strengthening deterrence and positioning America for long-term focus on the Indo-Pacific.
- For decades, the Islamic Regime and its terrorist allies have stalled America’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ by trapping us in endless conflict across the Middle East. Without President Trump’s decision to degrade Iran’s military, that cycle would have continued indefinitely.
- Xi Jinping would have loved for President Trump to continue Biden’s appeasement policies in Iran, let Iran grow stronger, and repeat October 7. Beijing wants our military preoccupied in other theaters, stretched thin, and unable to counter its aggression.
- There are tradeoffs between striking Iran and our near-term Indo-Pacific presence, but these dislocations are temporary. Troops and warships will return to Asia, the Pentagon will restock interceptors, and U.S. power will be hardened–with a weak Iran in our wake.
- President Trump is right to prioritize long-term deterrence against China, which requires more than force posture. It is a battle of wills that involves convincing the CCP that America will act, which is the credibility that Operation Epic Fury strengthens.
Myth: Striking Iran alienates U.S. allies and drives them into China’s arms.
Reality: Operation Epic Fury isn’t rupturing our alliances; it’s strengthening the real ones and exposing the weak ones.
- Many in the West have lost moral clarity—and that’s only become more obvious as European allies refuse to fight back against Iran. Some have even condemned the operation, denied military basing access, and questioned President Trump’s motives.
- Thankfully, for every ally that fails to meet the moment, another shows up. Israel has been America’s indispensable partner from the start. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and others are standing strong–and a Strait of Hormuz coalition could be in the offing.
- Operation Epic Fury has left China more diplomatically isolated. Just days ago, 13 U.N. Security Council members votedto demand that Iran cease attacks on Gulf states, with only China and Russia bucking the measure. China is antagonizing the world by running cover for a murderous regime–and all it can do is make strongly-worded statements.
Myth: Striking Iran justifies China invading Taiwan and validates the CCP’s claim the U.S. is an imperialist bully.
Reality: Operation Epic Fury demolishes China’s narrative of American decline and proves the U.S. won’t hesitate to use force to defend our interests.
- Comparisons between America striking Iran and China attacking Taiwan collapse on contact with reality. Iran has spent decades killing Americans and threatened the United States with nuclear weapons; Taiwan has done nothing of the sort to China.
- American strength stops China from wreaking havoc on the world. Xi Jinping takes notes every time America flinches–and updates his Taiwan timeline accordingly. Biden’s weakness shattered U.S. credibility with his Afghanistan retreat, emboldening Putin to invade Ukraine. Then Iran’s proxy launched the October 7 attacks.
- There is a reason Taipei supports President Trump’s efforts to decimate Iran’s regime and stop Putin’s attacks in Europe: It understands these regions are interlinked with theirs–and that countering attacks in Europe and the Middle East deters them in Asia.
- The CCP was banking on the U.S. being too distracted, divided, and afraid to stand in its way, but Operation Epic Fury changed that calculus. The cost of testing our resolve in Taiwan just went up dramatically.
Myth: China is more insulated from current energy shocks and economic fallout.
Reality: China is facing severe economic blowback that won’t be easily fixed.
- China runs on Middle East energy–and Iran was its economic lifeline. China purchased a whopping 90% of Iran’s crude exports at steep discounts through ghost fleets evading sanctions. Now, it must replace that oil on global markets under rising prices.
- Striking Iran cuts off a major source of discounted crude from China–just like the Maduro operation deprived China of Venezuelan oil. That leaves the CCP more exposed to Western sanctions and less ready to weather economic fallout from a Taiwan attack.
- China’s damage doesn’t stop there: Dozens of Chinese companies financed infrastructure projects, electrical grids, and petrochemical plants in Iran for a $400 billion partnership to anchor China’s regional influence for a generation. Instead, it’s all in the line of fire.
Myth: Striking Iran will drive more collusion between U.S. adversaries and embolden their hostility towards America.
Reality: Operation Epic Fury is isolating China and exposing the CCP as weak.
- Beijing is running low on friends. Maduro is gone, Assad is in exile, Putin is hemorrhaging in Ukraine, and Cuba is on the brink of collapse. China’s help for them is always on the way, but never arrives.
- China has spent years positioning itself as the alternative global superpower, but Operation Epic Fury is demonstrating the limits of its influence. All Beijing can do is watch as America severs its junior partners Iran and Venezuela–two in two months.
- Iran was also a proving ground for China’s military hardware, which is completely failing on the battlefield, just like in Caracas. That could jeopardize billions of dollars in China’s defense deals and undercut one of China’s most important influence tools.