Many foreign-policy analysts consider Russo-Iranian cooperation to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad an anomaly, a temporary and tactical alliance of convenience between two historic rivals. Not so, argues Oved Lobel, citing decades of coordination between Tehran and Moscow, and a shared overarching interest in opposing America across the globe.

Last month, the Chinese minister of defense, together with senior military figures, paid a visit to Tehran, where they met with their Iranian counterparts, as well as with the Iranian president. Tuvia Gering and Jason M. Brodsky doubt the talks will result in a grand Sino-Iranian alliance, but they nonetheless expect increased collaboration between the two countries. For many years, they note, Beijing has evaded or violated embargoes to sell arms to the Islamic Republic, and there’s reason to expect more of the same: