Who are Iran's allies? What to know after US attack
- While Russia, China, and North Korea condemned the U.S. strikes, only Russia called the aggression groundless.
- Iran has ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, but these groups have not directly engaged Israel since the U.S. bombing.
After the United States joined Israel's battle with Iran, bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, concerns of retaliation from the Middle Eastern country continued to circulate on Monday, June 23.
In what President Donald Trump called a "great success," American warplanes launched bombs and missiles striking uranium enrichment sites at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz. No U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation, which took place Sunday after midnight local time in Iran.
Trump's order to strike Iran's nuclear facilities comes after Israel began bombing Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure on June 13. Israel said the U.S. coordinated and helped plan the strikes in an operation to thwart Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Israel's military launched strikes on the country's capital of Tehran on June 23, focusing on military and government targets, Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister said, hitting a major prison and the security headquarters of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, among more "regime targets." The latest strikes also targeted airports.
The attack forced major U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles to ramp up security. Government agencies issued warnings to U.S. citizens at home. The State Department issued a “worldwide caution security alert” advising American citizens overseas to exercise increased vigilance amid the ongoing Israel-Iran war.
As the Israel-Iran conflict continues − now with the U.S. involved − here is a look at Iran's allies.
Who are Iran's allies?
Hours after the U.S. strikes, Vice President JD Vance said America is “at war with Iran’s nuclear program," not the country.
As of June 23, the conflict remained between Israel, backed by the U.S., and Iran alone.
An acronym coined in 2023 by some Western officials, CRINK, which includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, according to reports from Politico and the Wall Street Journal, refers to an emerging connection of four countries.
"While not a formal alliance with a unified command structure, the CRINK nations engage in cooperation on various fronts, including exchanging food, oil, arms, diplomatic support, and military assistance," Politico reported last year.
Here is what to know about Iran's allies:
- Russia: Repeated warnings from Moscow cited any direct U.S. action on Iranian soil would amount to "a dangerous escalation." The country's President Vladimir Putin met with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow on June 23 and said there was no justification for the U.S. attack and called aggression against Iran groundless.
- China: The country said it strongly condemned the U.S. attack on Iran and said it violated the UN Charter and international law. It called for a ceasefire but didn't offer Iran any substantial assistance. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to prevent Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for U.S. airstrike. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil and the two countries are friendly.
- North Korea: The country also said it strongly condemned the U.S. strikes against Iran calling it a mass violation of a sovereign state's security interests and territorial rights, state media reported. "(North Korea) strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the U.S. which ... violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by KCNA news agency.
Countries tied to Iran
- Lebanon: Iran has ties with Lebanon and its militant force Hezbollah, a political party the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in Lebanon. The group formed in the '80s during Lebanon's civil war to fight against two Israeli invasions of Lebanese territory, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. An ally of Hamas, it has vowed to support the group in its fight with Israel. But since the U.S. country's strike on Iran, The New York Times reported, Hezbollah has not launched an attack on Israel.
- Syria: Iran and Syria had close ties during the Iran-Iraq war, but that diminished since the ouster of the President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel forces ousted the dictator's regime and he fled with his family to Russia in December.
- Yemen: Iran has been attacking American ships in The Red Sea through their proxies in Yemen, the Houthis. America has responded with air strikes against them. In early May, Trump said the U.S. would end airstrikes on Houthi militants in Yemen effective immediately.
- Iraq: Iran, which shares a nearly 1,000-mile border with Iraq, has ties to Iraqi militant groups including Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Organization, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq. In January 2020, Iran launched 13 ballistic missiles at American troops in Iraq.
Contributing: Reuters, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Kim Hjelmgaard, Jeanine Santucci, Susan Miller, and Christopher Cann
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.