For the United States, both North Korea and Iran are considered "adversary states," and sanctions against both countries have been underway. Previously, when the United States planned to impose further sanctions on Iran, it hoped that China would respond and not import Iranian crude oil, but China did not agree. Annoyed and angry, the U.S. Congress introduced a bill to use domestic law to regulate international affairs and impose sanctions on China's import of Iranian oil. Unexpectedly, in the matter of cooperation with Iran, the United States did not block China, and the DPRK took the initiative to contact Iran.
So, what kind of effect will the interaction between North Korea and Iran bring? Let's take a look.
First of all, why is the United States sanctioning Iran and North Korea?
In terms of the measures that already exist, the US sanctions against Iran and North Korea are both because of the "nuclear issue". Because the United States wants to maintain its hegemony in the world and maintain its right to speak in the world, it does not want its rival countries to possess nuclear weapons, and once it has nuclear weapons, the United States will not be able to bully, and North Korea is a good example. Although the United States and South Korea continue to conduct military exercises around North Korea, they do not dare to attack North Korea easily, because Pyongyang's counterattack will cost the United States and South Korea too much.
It is precisely for this reason that when North Korea and Iran had "nuclear activities", the United States, together with its allies, launched sanctions against the two countries. Not only that, but the United States also used its voice in the United Nations to lead the United Nations in initiating sanctions against the two countries.
The reason for escalating sanctions against Iran is that Iran has recently carried out retaliatory strikes on Israel with missiles and drones, which has made the United States very faceless. Since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States has been unconditionally supporting Israel, which has also made Israel extremely arrogant, not only causing more than 34,000 civilian deaths in Gaza, but also refusing to implement the Security Council ceasefire resolution.
The United Nations has not yet taken any measures against this, but it did not expect to be "slapped in the mouth" by Iran first, so how can the United States endure it?
However, China is the largest export destination for Iranian crude oil, and with a big customer like China, Western sanctions are nothing to Iran. It is precisely because of this that the United States hopes that China will respond, but China is an independent sovereign country, and it is beneficial for its own country to do business with whomever it does, of course, it knows best, so how can it be possible to listen to the command of the United States?
Second, what does it mean for North Korea and Iran to interact?
Judging from the report issued by the Korean Central News Agency, the visit to Iran was made by North Korean Foreign Economic Minister Yoon Chung-ho, who led a delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs to Tehran. In other words, the talks between the two sides may revolve around economic cooperation. However, no matter what the two sides talk about, for the United States, the contact between the two countries is "dangerous." Why?
First, Iran is already capable of producing 60% enriched uranium, which is very close to "weapons grade". In the eyes of the international community, there are basically no technical obstacles to the production of enriched uranium of this level if they want to build an atomic bomb. North Korea is an de facto nuclear power, and the United States, of course, is afraid that the two sides will exchange experiences on the use of "civilian nuclear energy."
Second, North Korea's economy has been greatly affected by sanctions for many years, but this is exactly what the United States wants to see. Once North Korea and Iran reach an agreement, Iran will provide cheap energy to North Korea, which the United States cannot tolerate, and in order to monitor the implementation of sanctions against North Korea, the West often has warships and reconnaissance planes operating around North Korea.
What is more crucial is that these two countries not only do not deal with the United States, but also have friendly relations with China and Russia, and the United States even wants to drive a wedge between China and Russia, so how can it see the DPRK and Iran in contact.
Finally, the interaction between North Korea and Russia has been targeted by the United States.
In the past year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have both visited the DPRK, and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un has also visited Russia and held a meeting with Russian President Putin. After that, the United States and South Korea said that North Korea sent more than 6,000 containers to Russia, and Russia sent more than 9,000 containers to North Korea.
Against this background, North Korea's every move is being watched by the United States, and this time, after Iran and Israel fought a big fight, North Korea took the initiative to contact Iran, and it also rarely reported publicly, and the United States may be watching it even closer.