Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had promised him not to supply weapons to Iran, while again warning Tehran that the United States could resume strikes if negotiations collapse.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, the U.S. president said he received those assurances during his meeting with Xi in Beijing last week.
“President Xi promised me that he is not sending any weapons to Iran,” Trump said. “It’s a beautiful promise. I take him at his word.”
According to the American president, talks with the Chinese leader were “amazing,” and Xi, Trump claimed, is also interested in restoring shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Those statements diverge from assessments voiced by some Republicans in Congress. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers previously said the conflict around Iran had reminded the United States “who are not our friends.”
“China and Russia reportedly helped Iran during this conflict. That should concern every American,” Rogers said. According to him, any attempts by Moscow or Beijing to help restore Iran’s military capabilities should carry consequences.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of global oil supplies pass, has effectively remained closed since late February, when the United States and Israel began strikes on Iran. The disruption triggered turmoil in oil markets and pushed fuel prices higher. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since early April.
A day earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had canceled a military operation against Iran planned for Tuesday after requests from U.S. allies in the Middle East. At the same time, he said “serious negotiations” with Tehran were underway.
On Tuesday, the president confirmed that contacts were continuing but warned that Washington was prepared to resume strikes within days if no agreement is reached.
“I’m talking about two or three days — maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, maybe early next week. There’s not much time because we cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
According to Trump, on Monday he was “within an hour” of ordering new strikes on Iran before calling off the operation. The president added that military ships had been “loaded to the gills.”
Trump also said the United States, Israel, and Arab allies in the Persian Gulf were acting as “one team” in negotiations with Tehran.
The administration’s rhetoric drew criticism from Democrats. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the president’s threats to “kill as many Iranians as possible” while simultaneously claiming Tehran was ready to make concessions undermined confidence in the United States.
“Who is going to believe anything we say anymore?” Smith said.
Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan compared the administration’s statements to rhetoric from the Vietnam War era, when U.S. authorities regularly reported the number of “enemy combatants killed, territories seized, and bombs dropped,” only to ultimately lose the war.
“From a strategic perspective, we are now in a catastrophic position,” she said.
During the talks in Beijing, Xi Jinping allegedly told Trump that Vladimir Putin might regret the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, Trump rejected that account.
“No, he never said that,” the U.S. president stated.