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Portrait of President-elect Donald Trump. Digital photograph, 2016. File photo. |
Trump dismisses report that Chinese entities helped Iran before attack on US troops
UNITED STATES — September 14, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected concerns raised by a report that Chinese entities provided Iran with satellite images of a military base in Jordan before an attack that killed three U.S. troops in July.
The report said the imagery was obtained from Chinese entities before the attack. Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, did not directly say whether he would raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at their expected meeting later this month.
Instead, Trump compared alleged Chinese surveillance activities with those carried out by the United States. He said China spies on the United States while the United States also conducts intelligence activities against China.
The report cited unnamed U.S. officials and said they did not identify the Chinese entities involved. It also did not accuse the Chinese government in Beijing of directly taking part in providing the satellite imagery to Iran.
The allegations come as Washington faces broader concerns about China's relationship with Iran. At the same time, the Trump administration has sought to keep tensions with Beijing from escalating further ahead of the expected meeting between the two presidents.
Trump said he believed his relationship with Xi remained positive. He described the Chinese leader as having acted reasonably and said the United States had also behaved reasonably.
The two presidents are expected to meet in the United States on September 24, although China had not officially confirmed the meeting as of Sunday.
The reported satellite imagery was linked to a July attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. The available report did not establish that the Chinese entities or Beijing were directly involved in planning or carrying out the attack.
The allegations could nevertheless add another issue to the growing list of security concerns between Washington and Beijing. For now, Trump has played down the matter and emphasized his view that the U.S.-China relationship remains manageable ahead of his planned talks with Xi.
