Iran strikes could signal limits of Beijing, Moscow’s power as US flexes strength

President Donald Trump considers Iran military action amid protests, with experts saying strikes would highlight limitations of Chinese and Russian global military capabilities.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House. 

Potential strikes in Iran, coupled with the strikes in Venezuela to overthrow Maduro’s regime, 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."