"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

Beijing and Brussels are marking 50 years of diplomatic relations but one third party is putting a damper on the festivities.

YouTube removed nearly 11,000 channels in the second quarter. These channels spread state-linked propaganda, mainly from China and Russia. Google also

Russia sought to do this naval drill primarily to show it is still interested in joint cooperation with Iran. Iran and Russia began a naval exercise on Monday.

"Cooperation among China, Russia, and India not only aligns with the respective interests of the three countries, but also contributes to regional and global peace, security, stability, and progress," the spokesperson, Lin Jian, told a regular briefing in Beijing.

Officials in Tokyo released their Defense of Japan 2025 white paper this week with findings the international community is facing its greatest risk of conflict since World War II. The paper pointed to Russia,

Russia’s got one trading partner left that still writes big checks:- China. And those checks just got a hell of a lot bigger.

Beijing is betting that economic pressure and diplomatic defiance will force concessions, but its stance could put more strain on its ties with Europe at a crucial time.