Trump's Political-Military Strategy Towards Iran, China, and Russia

The US strategy towards China, Russia, and Iran, as the country's main and fundamental competitors, has been planned for years, but the extent of its success is shrouded in uncertainty.

News ID: 86840

Date: 26 October 2025 - 10:30

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The rise to power of Donald Trump has led to various transformations in the West Asia region and the entire world. This, in fact, indicates a tactical shift in some of the United States' policies and military actions in the region and the world.

If we examine Donald Trump's policies, which also conceal military actions within them, we can point to his measures in Latin America, the Panama Canal, the South China Sea, Greenland, Eastern Europe (with a focus on the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine), West Asia, and Western Europe.

Donald Trump's most important actions have been focused on his traditional rivals, namely, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russia, and China. In this context, three strategic regions are considered: West Asia, Eastern Europe, and the South China Sea in East Asia.

Donald Trump's Political-Military Strategy Towards Iran

If we are to address the most significant actions that Donald Trump has considered against Iran, some of which he has operationalized, we can point to:

Efforts to incite the Zionist regime to attack Iran (an abortive attack that occurred on June 13, 2025, and ultimately concluded with Iran's heavy missile response in early July 2025) to restrict and destroy Iran's nuclear program and limit Iran's missile capability.

Donald Trump often claims in his speeches that he has destroyed Iran's nuclear capability, that Iran's missile power has been restricted, and that Iran is no longer the "Bully of the Middle East" (a term Trump uses for Iran) as it once was. However, findings prove the opposite. Trump has repeatedly declared in almost every speech that he has destroyed Iran's nuclear and enrichment centers, but foreign media and military-political analysts reject his claims.

Another significant point is that Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that he would like Iran to participate in a peace agreement with regional countries and even sent an invitation for Iran to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, but Iran did not participate. The reason is that the US president's dual approaches and his claims about peace in the region are more akin to a joke, because if we note carefully, precisely in the middle of negotiations between Hamas members with the US and Qatar, and during the nuclear talks, the Zionist regime's airstrikes were carried out. The outcome of these attacks demonstrates that Donald Trump does not want peace. Furthermore, the brutal attacks of the Zionist regime on some countries in the region, which are carried out with American weapons, have even raised the voices of some so-called "moderate" countries, and everyone doubts Trump's claims and intentions.

Trump's Political-Military Strategy Towards Russia

Regarding Russia, US President Donald Trump pursues the following tactics:

1- Imposing a ceasefire on the Russian army and playing the role of the so-called savior concerning Europe's conflicts with Russia.

2- Creating maximum economic pressure against Russia by relying on primary and secondary tariffs to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire.

3- Selling heavy and strategic weapons to Ukraine through European intermediaries to prevent the war from expanding. (However, in all these strategies, the United States has failed, and Russia's war continues despite Trump's promises.)

It does not seem that Russia will withdraw from the Ukraine war, as this would be considered an acceptance of defeat. America will also likely extend sanctions against this country. Therefore, despite Trump's claims about an immediate ceasefire and cutting off intelligence and equipment aid to Ukraine, the war in Ukraine continues.

Donald Trump's Political-Military Strategy Towards China

The South China Sea has entered a new phase following intense political disputes between Donald Trump against China and the dispatch of a military fleet to this region. China might attack Taiwan, and the United States would support Taiwan in this conflict; this has strengthened the possibility of a comprehensive military confrontation.

The United States, in its trade battle with China, seeks to impose 100% tariffs, which may trigger a reaction from Beijing. Officials of China have stated they will not back down from a tariff war. Furthermore, in the military sphere, the Chinese are flexing their power in the East Asia region by expanding military equipment, conducting various military exercises, and unveiling their new military hardware. It seems that Trump's military strategy in East Asia has not been very successful either.

Although Trump claims that China has promised him not to attack Taiwan, everyone knows that politics between China and the US does not advance through promises and agreements; both sides determine their strategies based on their fundamental interests.