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@ Samuel Gabriel
2025-06-14 05:52:55
Rethinking Privilege: The Burden of Work in Traditional Gender Roles
Why Russia and China Back Iran Against Israel
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As the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, it’s not just a regional fight—it’s a global signal. Behind Iran stand two of the world’s most powerful authoritarian regimes: Russia and China. Their support isn’t born of religious kinship or ideological unity with Tehran, but of cold strategic logic. For Moscow and Beijing, Iran is a pressure point they can use to weaken Israel, destabilize the Middle East, and drain the global power of the United States.
This article explores the calculated motives behind Russia and China’s backing of Iran—and how the Iran–Israel conflict fits into their broader designs to reshape the global order.
Russia’s Strategic Objectives
Overstretching the United States
By supporting Iran, Russia helps to create another major front that demands U.S. attention. As Washington commits resources to support Ukraine in Europe, it now also faces rising tensions across the Middle East. Russian planners understand that American military and diplomatic bandwidth is limited. Forcing the U.S. to divide its attention benefits Moscow directly.
Undermining U.S. Allies
Israel is a key pillar of American influence in the Middle East—militarily, diplomatically, and technologically. By backing Iran and its proxies (such as Hezbollah and various Iraqi militias), Russia encourages attacks that destabilize Israel and its allies, weakening the U.S. position in the region.
Building Appeal in the Global South
Russia positions itself as an anti-Western alternative for nations disillusioned with U.S.-led order. By supporting Iran—a country cast out by the West—Russia expands its influence among Islamic nations and members of the non-aligned world.
China’s Strategic Objectives
Challenging U.S. Hegemony
China uses Iran as a wedge against U.S. dominance in the Middle East. As Washington tries to maintain alliances with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, Beijing offers an alternative path to countries looking to avoid Western pressure. A stronger, defiant Iran helps dilute U.S. sway in the region.
Securing Energy and Expanding Influence
Despite sanctions, China continues to buy large volumes of Iranian oil, providing Tehran with vital revenue. Iran is also a key node in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, connecting Chinese trade routes through Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. By backing Iran, China protects both its energy security and its long-term economic ambitions.
Creating Strategic Distraction
If the United States becomes deeply involved in a Middle East conflict, it has fewer resources and less political capital to confront China in the Indo-Pacific. The more entangled America becomes in the Iran–Israel crisis, the more maneuvering room China gains to advance its goals in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and beyond.
Shared Strategic Logic
Both Russia and China benefit from supporting Iran in ways that go beyond immediate military objectives:
Iran as a Proxy: Iran leads a network of armed proxies across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. With Russian and Chinese backing, these groups gain more weapons, funding, and strategic cover.
Undermining the Dollar System: Trade between Iran, China, and Russia increasingly bypasses the U.S. dollar. This weakens the West’s ability to enforce sanctions and threatens American financial primacy in the long term.
Strategic Implications
The Iran–Israel conflict is no longer a local or even regional matter—it has become a proxy front in a larger confrontation between Western democracies and an emerging authoritarian bloc. Russia and China are not neutral observers; they are active participants shaping the battlefield in their favor.
Their support for Iran raises the risk of broader conflict, strains U.S. alliances, and helps normalize an alternative world order that rejects U.S. leadership.
Conclusion
Russia and China’s support for Iran is not rooted in shared ideology or religious solidarity—it is a cold, strategic calculation. Both nations see Iran as a tool to:
Destabilize the U.S.-led world order
Divide American attention across multiple theaters
Undermine the credibility of U.S. alliances
Erode the power of Western sanctions and the dollar system
They enable Iran to pressure Israel as well as the U.S., leveraging conflict to advance their own geopolitical agenda. The result is a more volatile, multipolar world in which American dominance is challenged not just militarily, but economically and diplomatically—by design.