The 2025 Annual Threat Assessment from the U.S. Intelligence Community presents a detailed overview of a rapidly evolving threat landscape defined by intensifying competition among major powers and increasingly complex transnational challenges. The report identifies China as the biggest threat to U.S. national security, saying the country, led by President Xi Jinping, wants to achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049. This will necessarily require Beijing to expand its power and influence, shape global events in its favor, obtain greater U.S. deference capabilities, and counter challenges at home and abroad. These ambitions span military, technological, diplomatic and ideological domains.
Russia, meanwhile, is characterized as a resilient and disruptive power. Despite substantial losses in Ukraine, it maintains a large nuclear arsenal, potent cyber capabilities and the desire to undermine Western unity. The report also highlights growing cooperation among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, warning that a conflict involving one of them could lead to broader complications.
Beyond threats from state actors, the assessment underscores the threat posed by transnational criminal organizations, especially those trafficking synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which caused over 52,000 U.S. deaths last year. These groups engage in illegal migration and human trafficking. Cyber threats targeting U.S. infrastructure are accelerating too.
The report further identifies Iran-backed militias, including the Houthis in Yemen, as key players in regional destabilization, particularly in the Red Sea.
