Trump: Perhaps our 'excesses' in killing Iranian leaders... and Russia and China 'are not helping them'

Washington (Agencies): U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe that China and Russia are helping Iran, adding that they have “a lot to lose.” Trump is facing pressure amid reports that Chinese and Russian entities provided Iran with intelligence to carry out attacks on U.S. forces in the region. Responding to claims that China and Russia are aiding Iran, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “If they are doing it, it’s on a very limited scale, but I don’t believe they are doing it at all.” He added, “They have a lot to lose, and we will find out, and we will find out very quickly!”

In July, Trump said he did not believe that China and Russia were selling weapons to Iran, warning that “it would be very bad for them” if they did. The Kremlin denied U.S. media reports that Moscow had transferred sensitive intelligence to Iran, including locations of warships and U.S. aircraft in the region. Beijing also denied reports that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest semiconductor company, had sent chip-manufacturing equipment to Iran.

Meanwhile, the president said Washington “may have overreached” in targeting Iranian leadership, suggesting that the response should have stopped at the first or second level of escalation. Speaking at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump addressed the difficulties Washington faces in seeking a diplomatic resolution to the dispute with Tehran. He said, “Maybe we overstepped in dealing with the leaders; we no longer know exactly who we are dealing with. Frankly, we are having difficulty identifying the right counterpart to engage with, and I think we crossed the line.” He added, “We could have stopped at the first level, but moving to the second and a half level may have been excessive and an overreach.” He concluded, “No one wants to be the president of Iran.”