Washington: In a televised interview on Wednesday, President Donald Trump revealed that he sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping requesting that Beijing refrain from supplying weapons to Iran. According to Trump, President Xi replied in a separate letter, stating that China is not currently providing arms to Tehran.

The exchange of letters comes amid heightened regional tensions and a U.S.-led blockade of Iranian ports. Last week, the Trump administration threatened to impose 50% tariffs on any nation found to be supplying Iran with military hardware. Despite these warnings, recent reports have highlighted the sale of a Chinese-built spy satellite to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which was allegedly used to track U.S. military movements during recent hostilities.

In a social media post following the interview, Trump expressed optimism about his upcoming summit with Xi in Beijing, scheduled for mid-May. He suggested that China is supportive of efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to global energy traffic and downplayed any potential friction caused by the U.S. blockade, noting that while China is a major importer of Iranian oil, the U.S. remains energy independent.

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