Donald Trump claims Xi Jinping will not arm Iran as strike threat looms

Donald Trump said Xi Jinping had promised that he was not sending weapons to Iran, as the US president renewed his threats to resume strikes on Tehran.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Trump said Xi had vowed not to send weapons to Iran when the two leaders met in Beijing last week.

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

The president said he had an “amazing time” with his Chinese counterpart, who shared his desire for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.

The waterway, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil transits, has in effect been closed since the US and Israel first launched strikes against Iran on February 28, wreaking havoc on the global supply of oil and sending petrol prices around the world to fresh highs. A shaky ceasefire has been in place since early April.

Trump on Monday said in a post on Truth Social that he had suspended a military attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday at the request of US allies in the Middle East. He added that “serious negotiations” were taking place with Tehran.

On Tuesday morning, Trump told reporters that talks were ongoing, but he threatened to resume strikes in the coming days if a deal was not reached.

He said he had been an “hour away” from ordering additional strikes on Monday, before calling off the plan, adding that the “ships” were “loaded to the brim.”

Trump described the US, its Gulf allies and Israel as a “team” in the negotiations with Tehran. He said he was giving Iran “two or three days” to strike a deal and avoid further strikes.

“I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”

The FT first reported on Monday that Xi told Trump during their talks in Beijing that Russian President Vladimir Putin might end up regretting his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump denied the report on Tuesday, telling reporters: “No, he never said that.”