U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on Sunday to downplay a report claiming that Chinese companies supplied Tehran with satellite imagery of a U.S. military base in Jordan — both before and after an Iranian missile strike that killed three American soldiers.
Trump: “They do what we do”
“You know, when they say China is spying on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” the Republican president told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked about a Wall Street Journal report describing the transfer of intelligence from Beijing to Tehran. “That’s what we do. Basically, they do what we do,” Trump added.
On July 17, Iran launched missiles at a base in Jordan where U.S. forces are stationed. Three American soldiers were killed in the strike.
American officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal on condition of anonymity did not identify the Chinese entities they accused by name, nor did they suggest that the Chinese government was directly responsible.
According to the same report, U.S. officials raised the matter with Chinese counterparts, who asked whether they had any evidence of the satellite image transfer and did not acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in supplying them to Tehran.
In May, Washington imposed sanctions on three Chinese satellite imagery companies, accusing them of facilitating Iranian military operations.
China is one of Iran’s top trading partners, purchasing a significant share of the Islamic Republic’s oil output. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to make an official visit to the United States at the end of September.
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