The stories of China, Russia and Iran’s confrontations with the United
States and its allies began independently. Each has roots and causes quite
separate from the others.

And yet, the logic that governs human conflict has been pushing these
three powers into greater strategic collaboration. It is likely to develop
further, and may eventually take the form of a fully aligned geopolitical
camp whose members operate against their common adversaries in concert.

The outcomes that the regimes in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran seek to bring
about through their strategies are not the same. But this would not be the
first time when powers with very different geostrategies aligned with one
another.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4617658-mutual-hatred-for-america-will-only-bring-china-russia-and-iran-closer/

Nazi Germany gave weapons to the Ethiopians during the Italo-Ethiopian War
of 1935-1936, because Fascist Italy opposed the German plans to annex
Austria. Nazi Germany also maintained close military and economic
cooperation with China, before finally choosing to align with Japan
instead during the Sino-Japanese War.

In the end, the factor that defined the strategic choices of Berlin, Tokyo
and Rome resulting in the formation of the Axis was having the same main
adversaries in the Western democracies.

Iran wants to become the hegemon of the Middle East. This goal is in the
ideological DNA of the current ruling regime in Tehran. Its support of
Shi’a rebel movements, implacable enmity of Israel and the creation of
states within states in Lebanon and Iraq all are means to this end. The
most powerful force that stands in the way of this imperialist project is
the U.S.

Russia wants to replace the global leadership of the U.S. and its allies
with a world of a few great powers that dominate their neighbors and
compete or cooperate with the rest of the world. It intends to be among
these great powers and therefore seeks to restore its lost empire in a new
form.

Since, unlike the Soviet Union, modern Russia has no resources to attempt
to dominate the world by itself, it wants it to be leaderless. Those in
the U.S. who dream about aligning with Russia against China fail to
understand that America’s world leadership is completely incompatible with
the purposes of the current regime in Moscow and no amount of talk about
the Chinese threat can change this reality.

China currently is the only power capable of an attempt to replace America
as the global leader. This is exactly what the regime in Beijing has set
out to do. The resulting Sino-American struggle is on and will continue
for the foreseeable future.

In every one of these three very different strategies the main obstacle,
the chief adversary to overcome, is America. But there is also another
refrain common to Beijing, Moscow and Tehran, in addition to their
geopolitical struggle with the U.S.

These three regimes do not wish to live in a world where democracy, with
all its values, is the primary, influential and legitimate form of
political thought and practice. They do not want to remain in the role of
political rogues. Such status is tiresome and potentially very dangerous
for them. They want their despotism to be the norm rather than a deviation
from modern human civilization.

In this sense, too, the global leadership of America — by far the most
powerful and influential proponent of democracy — is a problem that needs
to be eliminated from the perspective of Beijing, Moscow and Tehran.

Russia and Iran found their way to serious strategic cooperation in 2015,
in the joint effort to save the Assad regime in Syria. Since then, they
have operated together in that country on numerous occasions.

As the Russo-Ukrainian War continues, Iran is making an important impact
on European geopolitics for the first time in modern history by supplying
Russia with weapons. Even more arms to fight Ukraine are delivered to
Russia by North Korea. It is hardly conceivable that Pyongyang would
commit to such a consequential step if China were against it. Moreover,
China’s support of Russia in its war against Ukraine has been growing.

There is still a lot of room for further closer alignment between China,
Russia and Iran. So far, the new Axis has not been fully formed. But the
inexorable logic of struggle applies great pressure in favor of strategic
collaboration between these three powers.

They have the same main adversary — America. Their chances of prevailing
against it will be better if they work together, still more if they
coordinate their actions forcing the U.S. to split its limited resources
between different geographic theaters. Moreover, the serious success of
any one of these three powers would weaken America, its prestige and its
alliances, thus helping the other two.

The world is a dynamic place right now. Many processes are gathering pace.
The growing alignment of China, Russia and Iran is among the most
consequential. Everyone who stands against the ambitions of any of these
three states and their ruling regimes needs to pay close attention.

### - hey, remember me talking about russia, china & islam being the last
3 obstacles to western world-domination, ohhh maybe some 10+ years or more
ago thang? you perforce rubbished the whole idea at the time and wouldn't
even consider it... this situation alone clearly explaining everything
that's happening today, and also why it's happening :)

(na na na-na na: i was right and you was wrong ahaha) :D