White House officials downplayed the reports of Russia helping Iran, but they did not deny that Russia has been sharing intelligence with the terrorist nation about U.S. targets in the region, reports The Associated Press. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that "it clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them."
However, Leavitt declined to say if President Donald Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the reported intelligence sharing or whether he believed Russia should face repercussions.
Robert Maginnis is a national defense analyst and president of Maginnis Strategies, LLC.
"One, we should not be surprised. Two, the Russians have a strategic relationship with Iran, as do the Chinese. So, expect them to do some helpful things too. As Trump has said it's not helping them much, so no surprise it's going to probably continue,” states Maginnis. “I don't think that you're going to see Russian ships and aircraft in the area, but I do believe they'll continue to provide them with information and diplomatic cover as best as they can."
Maginnis believes that, depending on how long this lasts, what is being seen is a proxy confrontation involving major powers.
"The intolerance in the West is growing less for what's going on. Clearly, Russia is helping. The Chinese are anxious about it. These are all significant developments, but the longer it lasts the more this begins to look like a proxy confrontation amongst the major powers,” states Maginnis. “The major powers are clearly China, the United States, Russia and others.”
Meanwhile, it appears that China is not ready to jump into action like some may think.
A week into the U.S.-Israeli military operation against the Iranian regime, the conflict has spread and directly impacted at least 14 countries across the Middle East and surrounding regions. The rogue regime is not making any friends lately, and China is one country that remains far from the action.
In fact, they are getting unsettled by the latest developments.
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, weighed in during an appearance on “Washington Watch” on American Family Radio.
"Beijing must be looking at our running down our stocks of ammunition. I think they're also, more importantly, looking at President Trump's exertion of will, that when the United States wants to do something, neither China nor Russia can stand in our way,” states Chang. “What we're showing the world is that we are the world's sole superpower, and China right now, I think, is a bit deterred."
Chang is also author of "Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America.” He thinks that, right now, the Chinese military is just unprepared to launch hostilities by going after the main island of Taiwan.
"Xi Jinping's purges have really decimated the leadership of the People's Liberation Army. At least for the moment, I don't think the army is any place to be able to go after Taiwan. That's not to say that they can't stumble into war. China is perfectly capable of doing that, and the chances of that are actually quite high,” states Chang. “But I don't see them launching an invasion as a matter of deliberate attack."
Trump is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping from March 31 to April 2 in Beijing, China. The main topic of discussion appears to be trade and economics, but it is speculated that discussion involving Iran and Taiwan could also happen.
Chang says that he isn't sure the Chinese president wants his upcoming summit with Trump to go forward because there is a president who is triumphant, while the Chinese look a little bit weak.
