In January 2026, one month before the war began, China, Russia and Iran quietly signed a trilateral strategic pact. It wasn’t symbolic: it formalized an alliance years in the making. Russia and Iran already had a 20-year treaty signed in 2025. China and Iran, a 25-year agreement since 2021. The January pact tied all three threads together.

Since the war erupted, that pact has activated piece by piece. In February, weeks before the bombings, all three navies held joint exercises in the very same Strait of Hormuz. Putin condemned Khamenei’s assassination as a “cynical violation of all norms of human morals.” Russia shares intelligence with Iran. China sends missile components and radar technology.

On April 7, Russia and China jointly vetoed the UN resolution seeking to reopen Hormuz. Chinese envoy Fu Cong said approving it while the U.S. “threatens the very survival of a civilization” would send the wrong message. Iran thanked the veto, saying it “prevented the Security Council from being misused to legitimize aggression.”