President Trump threatened “big problems” for China Saturday if they deliver air defense systems to Tehran while the US is locked in a war with Iran.
“If China does that, China is gonna have big problems, OK?” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
US intelligence sources have said that the People’s Republic was planning to send shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs to Tehran through third parties over the next few weeks in an attempt to hide the shady weapons transfer, according to CNN.
President Trump threatened China with “big problems” if they transfer weapons to Iran. AFP via Getty Images The munitions use heat-seeking guidance to lock onto an aircraft’s engine or exhaust, and were a major obstacle during the five-week war in Iran — with one nearly taking out an F/A-18 Super Hornet last week.
The American F-15 fighter jet shot down by Iran on April 3 was hit by a “handheld shoulder missile, [a] heat-seeking missile,” according to Trump.
China has denied the reports, with its embassy telling The Times of Israel that claims they are planning to arm Tehran with defense weapons are “entirely fabricated.”
“As a responsible major country, China always abides by international law and its international obligations, and never provides weapons to any party to the conflict,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement.
China denies aiding Iran in the war. REUTERS “China firmly rejects the circulation of speculative, misleading, and false information targeting China.”
Beijing has been accused of aiding the Islamic Republic in intelligence during the Iran war, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claiming that the two countries — along with Russia — are engaged in “close cooperation.”
“Russia and China are our strategy partners, and we have had close cooperation in the past, which is still continues [sic], and that includes military cooperation as well,” Araghchi told MS Now.
Katherine Donlevy contributed to this report.
