Russia, China Arming Iran Against US in Three-Way Axis — SkimNews
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- Russia is transmitting satellite intelligence on US troop, ship, and aircraft locations to Iran, which Iran has used to strike US bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, according to Dr. Stephen Blank of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
- Moscow has helped Iran restock roughly 60 percent of its drone losses with improved versions and provided tactical guidance on drone deployment drawn from Ukraine combat experience.
- China recently closed a deal to sell Iran supersonic anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 290 km, while Chinese engines power Russian drones sent to Iran alongside Chinese radio modems and cameras.
- Chinese entities supply chemical precursors and dual-use items for Iran's ballistic missile program and are loading Iranian vessels with sodium perchlorate, a solid rocket-fuel precursor, with Iran also granted military-grade access to China's Beidou satellite system.
- Beijing and Moscow share a strategic objective of prolonging the Iran conflict to bleed US strength, tie down forces in the Gulf, and prevent greater military support for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Washington's Asian allies, Blank says.
- China benefits from the Strait of Hormuz stalemate because it pre-built energy reserves and already receives discounted Russian and Turkmen energy, enabling unprecedented Chinese naval and air power projection into the Middle East.
- The Trump administration has pursued what Blank calls 'egregious strategic malpractice,' with US alliance systems — NATO, Asia, the Middle East — under pressure while the CRINK axis (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) tightens economically, politically, and militarily.
Why it matters: The Iran war has become a three-front test of US power in which adversaries are openly coordinating military support: Russia is providing satellite targeting data and replacing 60% of Iran's drone losses, while China sells supersonic anti-ship missiles and grants Beidou navigation access. With every US alliance system under strain and Iran 'arguably winning' per Blank, the CRINK axis is consolidating faster than Washington is countering it.
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