US President Donald Trump has dismissed suggestions that China and Russia are assisting Iran in its war with the United States and Israel. In a post on Truth Social late on Monday, he argued that both powers have far more to lose than to gain by supporting Tehran. He was responding to critics and opponents who had claimed Beijing and Moscow were backing Iran.
Trump wrote that any such help would be minimal at most, and that he did not believe it was happening. He added that Washington would learn of any such involvement quickly.
Trump’s July warning and his view of Xi and Putin
Trump said in July that he trusted China and Russia to stay out of the conflict. He warned at the time that any involvement would go badly for both countries. He has also described Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as neutral in the fighting.
Moscow and Beijing maintain close ties with Tehran, and Russia has said the war could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Reports of Chinese arms and sanctions evasion
Last month, Trump pressed Xi against providing Iran with support during the Chinese leader’s visit to Washington. Xi gave assurances that Beijing would not do so, the American envoy in China said at the time. That warning followed reports that China had supplied Iran with shoulder-fired air-defense launchers, and that Tehran had used Chinese help to get around sanctions on its oil sales.
In September, Trump brushed aside a report that Iran had obtained satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before a July attack that killed three US troops there. Beijing has condemned Washington’s attacks on Tehran as a serious breach of Iran’s sovereignty.
Wider war and its human toll
The conflict began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and on Gulf states that host US military bases. Strikes by the US and Israel on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have killed thousands of people and displaced millions, according to a wire-service tally.
