An axis of bystanders: Iran conflict reveals true nature of an alliance the West feared
With a fragile ceasefire now holding after Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Tehran has emerged a more diminished and isolated figure on the international stage.
Yet its supporters in Beijing and Moscow proved unwilling to come to its rescue – even as US President Donald Trump and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu mused openly about regime change.
If Russia's invasion of Ukraine gave rise to a so-called new axis of CRINK powers (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea) – as many western experts argued it had, pointing to the countries' varying levels of support for Moscow's war efforts – then the past 12 days have demonstrated its limits.
This unofficial grouping, according to a theory popularised in Washington circles, represents an emerging 'axis of upheaval', coalescing around a shared ideological view of anti-US hegemony and is pursued through strengthening diplomatic, economic and military ties.
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But when tested this month, the heavy hitters – China and Russia – offered only rhetorical support for Iran. In Beijing's case, those statements were particularly cautiously worded.
An 'axis of resistance' became an 'axis of bystanders', as Tom Miller from consultancy firm Gavekal Research put it.
With its resources tied up in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that no concrete support was coming from Moscow.
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