By Updates with backgroun in paragraphs 4-7
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he does not believe China or Russia are “participating” in the ongoing Iran conflict, but warned that if they did get involved “it would be very bad for them.”
“President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said Putin had also told him that he would not sell weapons to Iran and that he believed Russia and China were not participating in the Iran conflict.
“If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests,” Trump posted.
The United States and Iran have been at war since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes in February, killing senior Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader.
Four people familiar with U.S. intelligence said Iranian strikes on CIA targets in the Gulf earlier in the war had prompted U.S. intelligence to investigate whether Russia was assisting Iran with targeting information or drone technology. The Kremlin on Thursday declined to comment on the report.
The United States has sanctioned individuals and companies in Russia and China for helping Iran buy weapons.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; editing by Michelle Nichols)
