Opinion

Iran war success gives president a Trump card to play in China meeting

China loses discounted Iranian crude because of war, giving president rare diplomatic advantage

By Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, (ret.) Fox News

Published March 16, 2026 5:00am EDT

Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google

close

Video

Expert warns US strikes on Iran may have ‘long-standing ramifications’ for Russia and China

Former U.S. CENTCOM Deputy Commander Ret. Vice Adm. Robert Harward breaks down President Donald Trump’s military strategy in Iran on ‘America’s Newsroom.’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

When President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing later this March for his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the official agenda will read like every other U.S.–China meeting in recent memory: tariffs, trade balances, supply chains, Taiwan.

The real story walking through the door with him will be Iran.

On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, a sweeping joint campaign targeting Iran’s military, nuclear and command infrastructure. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening strikes — a seismic blow to a regime that had terrorized the region for nearly five decades. Within days, his son Mojtaba was elevated as successor, a dynastic transfer inside a theocracy that once claimed to reject hereditary rule.

The war grinds on — and its consequences are landing on Beijing harder than Xi Jinping ever planned.

STEVE MOORE: FIVE ENERGY TRUTHS THE MEDIA IGNORE AS AMERICA’S OIL BOOM BLUNTS THE IRAN WAR’S IMPACT

President Donald Trump has huge leverage heading into his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping because of US foreign policy successes. (Fox News)

Russia and China: not bystanders

Both Moscow and Beijing are actively helping Iran fight this war. That needs to be said plainly, because the administration’s public messaging has been too cautious on this point.

Multiple U.S. officials have confirmed that Russia has been sharing satellite and targeting intelligence with Tehran — including the locations of American warships and aircraft across the Middle East. That information has a cost. Seven U.S. service members have now been killed in Iranian attacks. Iran’s own ISR capability has been largely degraded by our strikes. The precision of the missile and drone attacks that have gotten through owes........

© Fox News