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Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea Are Joining Forces Against America — and Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a documents signing ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool

America’s adversaries have forged an axis of global instability. Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea exploit trade, technology, and diplomacy to undermine US influence and disrupt the global order. Yet, longstanding cracks in their relationships reveal the limits of their transactional partnerships. To prevail, the United States must double down on its authentic partnerships and innovate new forms of cooperation that outpace its adversaries.

Despite lacking a shared ideology, Tehran, Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang have cooperated since the Cold War to counter Washington, with aims at controlling trade routes, reshaping regional balances of power, challenging global norms, and reducing US influence. For example, Iran’s nuclear and missile programs have used North Korean technology, with nuclear plans tracing back to AQ Khan’s proliferation network in the 1990s.

Building on their shared ambition, America’s adversaries have intensified their military cooperation, making countering any single axis member more challenging.

For more than three years, Russia’s war against Ukraine has provided insights into Western equipment that Ukrainian forces used, while Iran, China, and North Korea continue to provide Russia with military support through personnel, weaponry, and intelligence.

Israel’s campaign in June dealt a severe blow to Iran’s dangerous ballistic missile and nuclear programs, but adversaries will prepare for future fights by studying Iranian missile adaptations that occasionally penetrated joint US-Israeli air defenses and the capabilities of US aircraft, like F-35 fighter jets and B-2 bombers.

Collaboration among US adversaries has significantly increased their capacity to acquire weaponry, accelerating military modernization and circumventing arms restrictions. Beyond directly supplying Russia with Iranian drones, Iran’s construction of a drone factory on Russian territory to produce Iranian Shahed drones has enabled Russia to launch thousands of them against Ukraine. China has delivered ballistic missile fuel components to Iran — a key danger that prompted Israel to begin Operation Rising Lion in June — while both China and Russia have also provided intelligence and other forms of military support to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Now, Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang could help Tehran replenish its depleted missile and air defense stocks and production capacity after the 12-Day War.

Beyond the battlefield, US adversaries have used trade and multilateral diplomacy to weaken Washington’s influence and undermine global norms. Chinese purchases of Iranian and Russian oil have provided both countries with critical revenue streams to fuel their aggression, despite Western sanctions. Beyond bilateral efforts, Russia and China continue expanding multilateral organizations like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to undermine US-led alliances and strengthen their own influence. Russia and China have also provided critical support and resources to Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs, undermining global nonproliferation. Moscow and Beijing may oppose an Iranian nuclear bomb, but will likely support Tehran diplomatically and economically, aiding its nuclear ambitions.

Yet, the world’s most dangerous partnerships remain based on transactional interests, not real solidarity. While these countries share an aim to weaken US influence, competing goals limit their cooperation. The axis’s limitations were apparent during the 12-Day War when Iran stood alone. Underscoring their transactional relationship, Moscow even reportedly refused a request from Tehran for Iranian-designed, Russian-produced Shahed drones after Israeli strikes damaged Iran’s domestic production.

In contrast, the axis’s weaknesses are the United States’ greatest strength: a resilient network of alliances built on mutual interests. For decades, the United States has cultivated enduring alliances grounded in the confidence of America’s friends that when challenges arise the United States will stand by them. None more so than Israel.

As US adversaries grow closer, America must strengthen these alliance networks. The United States should pursue continued strategic-based integration with Israel, which proved during the 12-Day War to be the only US partner willing and able to mount a preemptive offensive against a revisionist axis nation. Developing US-Israel-Arab and US-Ukraine common operating pictures should also be a priority to strengthen regional security.

US leadership can also expand recent advances in Middle Eastern air defense cooperation to include maritime safety, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism. With Iran looking to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs, a tailored mutual defense agreement to support Israel against existential threats would help deter Iranian escalation. On the economic front, promoting the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) provides strategic alternatives to vulnerable trade routes through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that Iran has threatened to close.

 To counter increased cooperation among US adversaries, the United States should deepen defense industrial partnerships, especially in the Middle East. Coproducing air defense systems like Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow with Israel, acquiring Arrow batteries, and investing in new technologies will enhance security. Collaborating with Arab nations can also bolster regional defenses against Iran, while reducing opportunities for Chinese or Russian arms sales.

By forging bold, tailored, future-focused alliances, Washington can outmaneuver revisionist powers and break the cycle of regional unrest. America’s authentic action-based friendships provide unrivaled advantages and opportunities for greater security and shared prosperity.

Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, USN (ret.) is the former Chief of Naval Operations and a 2019 Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) Generals & Admirals Program participant. Ari Cicurel is the associate director of foreign policy at JINSA.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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