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

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.

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

"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.

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.

More than a dozen countries stand in the crosshairs of Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs over their economic ties to Russia.

The Agricultural Research Service lost dozens of researchers after the USDA terminated contracts with nationals from four countries of concern.