China rejected reports from U.S. outlets claiming it was gearing up to send a weapons shipment to Iran as talks between the countries in Pakistan failed to yield positive results.
China opposes any groundless smears or malicious linkage, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, according to Chinese outlet CGTN.
The report in question, published by different outlets, cites U.S. intelligence claiming that Beijing is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Tehran within the next few weeks.
CNN detailed that the assessment is that Iran could be using the two-week ceasefire announced on April 7 to replenish weapons systems.
The weapons, officials said, are shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs. They could be used for asymmetrical encounters with low-flying aircraft.
Asked about the possibility, President Donald Trump said China will face consequences if the U.S. concludes the country effectively sent weapons to Tehran. “”If China does that, China will have big problems, OK?” he said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington had also rejected the claim, saying: “As a responsible major country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections, and engaging in sensationalism; we hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions.”
Trump has also ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to destroy Iranian “fast attack ships” if they attempt to prevent it.
In a social media publication, Trump noted previous attacks against the Iranian navy, saying it is “laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated.”
He went on to say that the mentioned ships were not targeted “because we did not consider them much of a threat” but warned that if they move against the blockade, they “will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea” in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Tehran, in turn, said the blockade “amounts to piracy” and threatened a “forceful response” to U.S. actions, including targeting ports across the Gulf.
“Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Monday, according to The Associated Press.
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