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President Donald Trump told the New York Times over the weekend that President Xi Jinping of China and Russian leader Vladimir Putin helped him to secure a peace deal with Iran to end the war.
The Times diplomatic correspondent Edward Wong pointed out on Monday just how remarkable a claim that truly was, given that both Russia and China helped Iran to attack U.S. troops in the region during the conflict.
“What he didn’t mention: the State Dept. has imposed sanctions on companies for sending Chinese arms to Iran. And Russia has given intelligence aid to Iran,” Wong wrote, while sharing the report on social media.
The Times initially reported on Sunday night that Trump “initiated” a 28-minute call “from the White House residence” and made the case that his war with Iran “had remade the Middle East in America’s favor.”
David Sanger reported on the call with Trump and added, “Speaking on his 80th birthday, as his family could be heard gathering in the background for a celebratory dinner, he praised two authoritarians — Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia — for aiding in the settlement, or at least not interfering in the blockade of the Strait.”
“He was a total gentleman,” Trump said of Xi during the interview, adding, “He didn’t send a tanker, along with 20 destroyers on each side of it, to try and break up the blockade.”
On Monday, Wong wrote a follow-up report on Trump’s comments and noted, “The White House did not reply a request for comment on Monday on what Mr. Trump meant when he said Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin had helped the Americans and Iranians reach the initial agreement. The State Department referred questions to the White House. The Chinese and Russian embassies in Washington did not answer requests for comment.”
In early March, CNN reported on how Russia is helping Iran locate U.S. troops to target for retaliation. “Russia is providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue, the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war,” reported CNN’s national security team, adding:
Much of the intelligence Russia has shared with Iran has been imagery from Moscow’s sophisticated constellation of overhead satellites, one of the people said. It is not clear what Russia is getting in return for the assistance.
Thirteen U.S. service members were killed during the war and some 370 were reported injured, primarily by Iranian missile strikes on U.S. bases throughout the Middle East.
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