Iran war provides China, Russia rare real-time insight into US military: Report

The Iran war has given China, Russia and North Korea -- described by the US as major security threats -- a rare real-world opportunity to study the strengths and weaknesses of Washington’s military.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, these nations have witnessed new US weaponry in action for the first time, such as artificial intelligence (AI) assisted, high-speed precision airstrikes.

But they have also noted how quickly the US has exhausted critical munitions, particularly long-range Tomahawk missiles and Patriot interceptors. Additionally, they have seen how Iran’s inexpensive drones have posed a threat to Washington’s Gulf allies, according to the report.

The report pointed out that some of Iran’s military equipment is based on Chinese technology or contains Chinese parts, noting that Beijing would be keen to gather operational data, particularly regarding how Iran targeted US military bases in the Gulf.

For Russia, the war reportedly offers a deeper understanding of how American weapons compare to Iranian arms, especially in the context of overlapping drone technology.

The report said that such insight is valuable to Russia in its war with Ukraine which relies heavily on US weaponry, and in the event of a future conflict with NATO allies in Europe.