In February 2025, global tensions showed the severity of technological dominance, as China AI military capabilities grew, merged with Iranian cyberattacks and shifting US policies to define powerful geopolitical dynamics in modernized digital warfare.
With the US and China AI in military spending billions of dollars on intelligent weapons and defense systems, the speed at which China military AI has built this technology has alarmed US defense specialists. Intelligence that China will deploy fully autonomous AI weapons on the battlefield in two years, ahead of US capabilities, has raised alarms.
The AI weapons in China’s military innovation attempted to process and analyze information faster than human decision makers.
The US is rethinking its AI policies to maintain a competitive edge, with the Trump administration teasing such a direction through rescission of previous executive orders on AI development, focusing on national strategy to protect the AI infrastructure and prevent further cyber-attacks.
Cyber Warfare Iran’s Turn
With China AI warfare restructuring standard military strength, cyber warfare has become a weapon of choice that nations like Iran can use to exercise power in a distorted manner. Iranian cyber actors have been expanding their presence in cyberspace, focusing their efforts on US political candidates and organizations.
To specifically mention, those who operate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used sophisticated phishing techniques, posing as reporters with established news organizations, to breach the 2024 US presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
During the US elections China rejects international agreement on responsible military AI use because these cyberattacks were not only from China and they weren’t limited to the US. Iranian hackers in Israel have published sensitive information, such as private photographs of top Israeli officials and Israeli gun owner lists.
Geopolitical Implications
The American Chinese technological competition is not only a mutual one, but it also resonates across global alliances. The China AI military dominance in strategic industries, such as shipbuilding, presents economic and national security challenges to the US and compels the argument for revitalized American industries to counter China’s stranglehold.
Meanwhile, Iran’s cyber endeavors further ignite its relationship with US allies, particularly Israel. The compromise of sensitive information via cyberattacks increases regional tension and makes diplomatic action more complicated, and Iran’s strategic partnership with China through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS membership is a shift in policy toward Eastern nations at the expense of US leadership in the Middle East.
The Trump Administration Stance
President Trump’s leadership pushed the US to adopt a more assertive stance in countering China’s technology aspirations with policies that include tariffs and export controls, designed to restrict China aims to be AI military global power and the protection of US intellectual property.
These policies form part of a broader strategy to secure technological control and address national security concerns, and the AI military between US China Russia in the technological progress and diplomatic relations will continue to shape the global power dynamics.
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