Trump Says China and Russia Aren’t Helping Iran ‘At All’

US President Donald Trump said late Monday that he did not believe China and Russia were helping Iran in the ongoing war. He said both countries had “too much to lose” if they supported Tehran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had seen claims from his critics that China and Russia were assisting Iran. However, he said he did not believe these claims were true.

“If they are, it’s at a very low level, but I ⁠don’t believe they are at all. They have too much to lose, and we ​would know about it, and know about it very fast,” Trump wrote.

Trump said in July that he trusted China and Russia not to support Iran. He also warned that if they became involved, “it would be very bad for them.”

The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military bases. The conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, while Israeli attacks on Lebanon have also caused heavy casualties and displacement.

Trump has previously described Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “neutral” during the war.

Russia and China maintain close ties with Iran. Moscow has warned that the conflict could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, while Beijing has condemned US attacks on Iran as a violation of its sovereignty.

Last month, Trump warned Xi against supporting Iran during the Chinese leader’s visit to Washington. The US ambassador to China later said Beijing had assured Washington that it would not provide such support.

The warning followed reports that China had supplied Iran with shoulder-fired air defence missile launchers and helped Tehran find ways to avoid sanctions on oil sales.

In September, Trump also dismissed a report claiming that Iran had obtained satellite images of a military base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack in July that killed three US troops.