Tehran

The first train connecting China to Iran via the ancient Silk Road has arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran after traveling for 14 days in a journey of over 10,000 kilometers The train, which was launched in an effort to revive the ancient road, was carrying 32 containers of commercial products originating from China’s eastern province of Zhejiang, according to Iranian media Press TV reports: The trip from China to Iran has taken 14 days over 10,399 (about 6,500 miles), taking the cargo train through Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Fars news agency reported.

In case you haven’t noticed, Iran is on a roll.

Much to the chagrin of Israel and any number of GOP lawmakers in the US, the nuclear accord is a done deal and creates a $100 billion windfall for Tehran.

And that’s just the beginning of the story.

Iran enjoys trolling the United States. In fact, it’s something of hobby for the Ayatollah, who has maintained the country’s semi-official “death to America” slogan even as President Rouhani plays good cop with Obama and Kerry.

In case you might have missed it, Saudi Arabia and Iran are teetering on the edge of open war.

For years, the two regional powers have been engaged in at least three proxy wars across the Mid-East.

In Syria, the Quds and the IRGC have been fighting to bolster Bashar al-Assad’s depleted forces since at least 2012, while the Saudis and the other Gulf monarchies have lent assistance to the various Sunni rebel groups fighting to destabilize the government in Damascus.

On Tuesday evening we checked in on Xi Jinping as he makes his first visit to the Mid-East as President.

As we detailed extensively, the trip comes at a critical time for the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran are at each other’s throats following a series of unfortunate events that began with the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and quickly escalated into an all-out diplomatic firestorm.

Now, the spat is on the verge of triggering a wider sectarian conflict that could further destabilize an already precarious security situation.