US Found 'Chinese Gift' For Iran: Trump After Ship Carrying Missile Chemicals Seized In Hormuz Beijing Rejects Claim

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) made obscure comments regarding China's involvement in assisting Iran in the war by possibly providing weapons or other potentially lethal war supplies to the Islamic Republic, a move that would test a US red line on aiding Tehran during the war, Bloomberg reported.

In an interview with CNBC, Trump suggested that Washington caught a boat with a "gift" from Beijing; however, without stating explicitly, he hinted that the "gift" may have been some lethal aid intended for Tehran. This came as he spoke about the US's efforts to restock its own munitions.

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He said, "We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which weren't very nice - a gift from China, perhaps, I don't know." He added, "I thought I had an understanding with President Xi, but that's alright. That's the way the war goes, right?”

Nikki Haley accuses China of helping Tehran

Trump's cryptic remarks came a day after former US envoy to the United Nations (UN), Nikki Haley, accused China of assisting Tehran in the war with the US. In a post on X, Haley wrote, "The ship the US seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles."

Haley further noted that Beijing has refused all of Washington's previous orders to stop helping Tehran.

China denies helping Iran

Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, in a briefing on Tuesday, responded to unverified claims of Beijing being linked to chemical shipments for missiles, saying,“As far as I know, the vessel seized by the US is a foreign container ship. China rejects any false association and speculation.”

The Chinese Embassy in Washington highlighted that Beijing handles the "export of military products prudently and responsibly and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles.”

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Bloomberg, citing US officials, reported that while Russia has aided Iran throughout the six-week-long conflict, China's role has been less clear. While Beijing generally avoids supplying weapons to overseas wars or openly violating US sanctions. Providing aid to Tehran would risk potential economic penalties, after Trump threatened to impose immediate 50% tariffs on any country that would supply weapons to Iran, specifying there "will be no exclusions or exemptions."

Earlier this month, a CNN report citing US intelligence noted that Beijing was preparing to deliver a new air defence system to Tehran in the coming weeks, including shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems. In a separate interview with Fox Business, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him in a letter exchange that China was not providing weapons to Iran. Chinese officials have repeatedly denied that the country is sending weapons to the Islamic Republic.

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The developments come ahead of a high-stakes meeting between Xi Jinping and Trump in May. The meeting comes after a previously planned meeting was supposed to take place in April but was postponed due to the Iran war.

Ryan Hass, director of the China Center at the Brookings Institution, said Trump's decision to downplay the US interception of a Chinese ship is unsurprising, as Washington and Beijing have sought to manage tensions over the Iran war without derailing broader bilateral ties.

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