Weeks after his country was battered by waves of Israeli strikes and the US bombed three of its prized nuclear facilities, Iran’s foreign minister came to a gathering of regional diplomats in China this week with a simple ask.

"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.

Other countries, including the United States, China, and Russia, were not cited as significant threats by substantial portions of the Israeli public.

Iran and Russia have a security agreement although Moscow did not come to Tehran's help when it was under attack by Israel and the United States

Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a U.N. mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a member of Iran's parliamentary national security commission said on Monday,

China faces pressure to move beyond economic diplomacy and become Iran’s key security partner as regional instability grows.

China has promised to help Iran stand up to "bullying" and to defend its rights and interests through talks, China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart, as Iran seeks to rally international support after Israeli and U.S. attacks on its nuclear program.