President Donald Trump is weighing whether to pull the trigger and launch strikes against Iran - a move that could potentially expose the weaknesses of both Russia and China, according to experts.
While Russia and China have sought to make inroads in areas of Africa and Latin America - presenting themselves as partners for infrastructure and military equipment - neither Russia nor China intervened to defend their ally Venezuela when the U.S. took action Jan. 3 to topple dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime.
Potential strikes in Iran, coupled with the strikes in Venezuela to overthrow Maduro, would drive home just how formidable the U.S. is and even near-peer adversaries like Beijing can't compete, according to experts.
"Beijing would likely respond with familiar condemnations and calls for restraint, but the deeper takeaway would be uncomfortable: China's partnerships offer little protection when the United States decides to act," Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement Wednesday. "Venezuela made that clear regionally; Iran would underscore it globally. Chinese officials will brand Washington reckless or rogue, but privately this episode would validate long-standing Chinese views about how power is actually exercised and that the U.S. is the only country willing and able to project force across multiple theaters on short notice."
RAND PAUL SAYS TRUMP'S THREAT TO BOMB IRAN 'IS NOT THE ANSWER': NOT THE 'JOB OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT'
"Two complex military operations in two regions just two weeks apart would reinforce a core assessment inside China's system: America's military might remains unmatched, and Washington is willing to use it when it judges the risks manageable," Singleton said. "That combination commands professional respect even as it sharpens Chinese unease."
Mark Cancian, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' defense and security department, voiced similar sentiments and said that countries like Iran and Venezuela who've cozied up to Russia and Beijing are likely realizing the pitfalls of those ties.
For example, Venezuela has had long-standing ties to Russia and has purchased Russian military equipment - yet Russia was not there to safeguard Caracas from U.S. strikes or prevent the U.S. from capturing Maduro, Cancian said. Another military strike in Iran would only expose Russia and China's limitations further, Cancian said.
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO 'CUT OFF' TRUMP'S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
"I think many countries are seeing that Russia and China can't protect them, that those alliances have severe limitations," Cancian told Fox News Digital Friday.
"I think that a strike on Iran would make the same point," Cancian said.
According to Cancian, the reason Moscow and Beijing can't defend their allies and partners is because neither maintains a global military like the U.S. does.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES 'FINAL' 25% TARIFF ON COUNTRIES DOING BUSINESS WITH IRAN REGIME
"The United States does maintain United bases all over the world," Cancian said. "It has a Navy that deploys all over the world. The Chinese don't have that. The Russians don't have that. So although they have powerful militaries, they don't have the global capability to protect allies and partners."
Meanwhile, Trump is still weighing whether he'll conduct strikes on Iran again. The president told reporters Jan. 11 on Air Force One that the administration was "looking at some very strong options," and Tuesday said that all meetings with the Iranian regime were scrapped until "the senseless killing of protesters STOPS." He said that those who've killed anti-regime demonstrators will face consequences.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that even though "killing in Iran is stopping," he wouldn't rule out military action and that the U.S. would "watch and see" what happens. Meanwhile, Trump said Friday that he had held off on strikes for now because Iran had canceled executions for more than 800 people.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that warnings of potential military strikes against Iran were "categorically unacceptable," and said that it amounted to "subversive external interference."
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning similarly told reporters it opposes any interference in other countries' affairs, when asked about potential strikes.
INSIDE THE LIGHTNING US STRIKE THAT OVERWHELMED VENEZUELA'S DEFENSES AND SEIZED MADURO
Protests broke out across Iran in December 2025 in response to economic hardships facing the country, as well as a referendum against Iran's theocratic regime.
More than 2,000 people - including at least nine children - have died in the recent protests, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Tuesday. According to The Sunday Times, that number is much higher. The outlet reported Sunday that a report doctors in the region created estimates roughly 16,000 protesters have been killed.
Trump authorized several major military operations in recent months, on top of the strikes in Venezuela. For example, he also signed off on strikes in Nigeria and Syria in December targeting those affiliated with the Islamic State.
This also wouldn't be the first time Trump has conducted strikes against Iran - should he choose to go through with them. In June, he signed off on strikes targeting Iran's nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
