Iran, China, Russia alliance 'would mean a lot of pain for West': Iran envoy

A potential alliance between Iran, China, and Russia could cause the West serious worry, Tehran's envoy to Moscow has said, amid tensions between Russia and the US in Europe.

Kazem Jalali was addressing media on Monday while on a trip to North Ossetia, one of the Russian Federation's republics, Moscow's official TASS news agency reported.

It comes days after Iran, Russia and China held joint naval drills.

"Naturally, the United States and the West, in general, are concerned about new coalitions which are currently [being made] on the international arena," Jalali argued.

"A coalition of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China is an example of such strategic coalitions."

Jalali called Russia a powerful nation with serious prospects across technology, military and other fields.

"That is why creating this kind of coalition would mean a lot of pain for the West," according to Jalali.

Despite these pitches, there are no signs that such a coalition is on the horizon.

Though Russia and Iran are both aiding the Syrian regime, the two countries are thought to differ on other foreign policy issues, including Moscow's close relationship with Israel.

Yet the Iranian, Chinese and Russian navies held their third collective drills in the Indian Ocean on Friday.

Iranian Rear Admiral Mostafa Tajoldini, spokesman for the drills, told state TV: "The purpose of this drill is to strengthen security and its foundations in the region, and to expand multilateral cooperation between the three countries to jointly support world peace, maritime security and create a maritime community with a common future."

Reuters contributed to this story.