Trump Says Xi Jinping Assured Him China Is Not Supplying Weapons to Iran; Warns of Nuclear Risks in Middle East

Washington, May 2026 : US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally assured him that Beijing was not supplying weapons to Iran, as he defended ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear capabilities amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the White House ballroom construction site, Trump said he had received what he described as a direct assurance from Xi during recent interactions between the two leaders.

“President Xi has promised me that he’s not sending any weapons to Iran,” Trump said. “That’s a beautiful promise. I take him at his word.”

The President said his engagement with Xi reflected what he called a strong personal rapport built over years of diplomatic exchanges. He recalled earlier meetings, describing them in positive terms.

“We had an amazing time in China,” Trump said. “President Xi and I had really an amazing time.”

Trump’s remarks came as he addressed broader geopolitical concerns involving Iran, particularly its military posture and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route.

He argued that China had a direct stake in maintaining stability in the region due to its dependence on Middle Eastern oil supplies.

“You know, if you think about it, he gets 40 per cent of his oil,” Trump said, referring to China’s reliance on imports from the region. “He wants it open. Like me, I want it open.”

Trump accused Iran of historically using control over maritime chokepoints as leverage in global politics, saying the situation had persisted for decades.

“Iran has used the straits as a military weapon for 47 years,” he said. “That’s not their strait, that’s international waterways.”

The President said the United States was coordinating with several regional allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait, as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to stabilise the region.

“We are negotiating together,” Trump said. “Israel has been a great partner.”

He also made strong claims about the extent of damage to Iran’s military infrastructure, saying its capabilities had been significantly degraded in recent strikes and operations.

“Their missiles are 82 per cent gone, we estimate,” Trump said. “Their Navy is completely gone; their Air Force is completely gone.”

Despite this, he acknowledged that Iran still retained some limited capacity for retaliation but argued its ability to rebuild had been severely weakened.

“Their capacity to build is very little right now because we hit all of their manufacturing areas,” he said.

Trump further revealed that the United States had been close to authorising additional military action before regional allies urged restraint and more time for diplomacy.

“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” he said, suggesting that last-minute diplomatic interventions had delayed escalation.

The President reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained a core objective of US foreign policy.

“If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel,” Trump warned. “It would be nuclear holocaust.”

He also linked the situation to global energy stability, noting that tensions in the Gulf region could directly impact oil flows and international fuel prices. He pointed to ongoing maritime movements involving large crude carriers heading toward the United States.

“One of the things that is happening is these big ships are coming up to Texas, Louisiana and Alaska and they’re loading up,” he said.

Trump’s comments underscored his administration’s dual-track approach of maintaining pressure on Iran while keeping diplomatic communication open with global powers, including China, which remains one of Tehran’s key economic partners and a major importer of Iranian oil despite long-standing US sanctions.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)