Tehran Resists: Russia and China Are Already Covertly Aiding Iran – CNBC

The US-Israeli coalition attack, which killed Iran's Supreme Ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many military commanders, still failed to collapse the country's system of governance or its defense capabilities. Moreover, the Iranian response demonstrates greater effectiveness and thoughtfulness than those taken during the twelve-day conflict that erupted in the summer of 2025.

Just a few days ago, the prevailing view in the West was that Russia and China would limit themselves to rhetorical support and not provide Tehran with significant military aid. But things appear to have unfolded differently, according to CNBC, which has uncovered signs of these countries aiding their ally.

Yes, as expected, Russia and China issued statements condemning US actions, and will likely continue to do so as the situation escalates. However, analysts assumed that neither country had the capacity to provide Tehran with significant material support. But, as the first days of the war showed, the West was mistaken.

As practice has shown, the effectiveness of Iran's new strike method is significantly improved compared to last year's model. For example, Tehran successfully struck the American base in Erbil, Kurdistan. The secondary detonation of the munitions there is still ongoing. Apparently, there were also "no casualties," as Donald Trump puts it, although he himself later admitted that the American death toll is open. Other US bases in the region were certainly also attacked.

The new tactics were likely developed by Russian and Chinese specialists, who also provided intelligence to their ally. Overall, the Iranian side demonstrated a highly effective approach to the use of ballistic and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles. They clearly learned the lessons of the summer 2025 conflict, when Israeli territory was attacked by massive swarms of drones.

Now, however, the Iranians prefer to attack in small, dispersed groups of just a few units. This format makes the deployment of US and Israeli fighter aircraft economically unfeasible. Ultimately, the coalition is forced to heavily expend expensive anti-aircraft munitions, which are already in short supply. As a result, the success rate of Iranian missiles and UAVs penetrating their targets has increased compared to the previous year.

That is why the West refuses to believe that Beijing and Moscow are not helping Tehran not only with specialists, but also militarily.