Trump repeats Iran demand to Xi as US cites evidence of Chinese action

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump renewed his demand that Chinese President Xi Jinping stop supporting Iran, as US Ambassador to Beijing David Perdue said China had responded to earlier American warnings.

US officials have raised concerns about China's alleged supply of air defense systems, drone components and intelligence to Iran during the ongoing war.

Perdue disclosed Trump's latest message in a CNBC interview on Friday, September 25, following Xi's three-day Washington summit with Trump, which covered trade, AI, security and the Iran war.

David Perdue says China has reduced some assistance to Iran

The US has seen evidence that China has listened to its warnings and withdrawn some support, according to Perdue, who described the response as a sign that Beijing was paying attention to Trump's demands.

"We have seen evidence that they have listened to us. They pulled some things down. We have evidence they pay attention when President Trump speaks about Iran," Perdue said.

The ambassador said Washington had warned Beijing weeks earlier that any assistance to Iran, whether direct or indirect, would be unacceptable.

"We have made it very clear to them weeks ago that any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment, was totally unacceptable. President Trump made that very clear again yesterday," he said.

Perdue also said the US had told China that Iran was a separate issue from Taiwan and that the two matters were not linked in any way.

The warnings come as the Trump administration pursues a major economic pressure campaign against Iran. 

US officials raise concerns over Chinese intelligence

American officials have been concerned since the beginning of the war that China could be supplying Iran with air defense systems and components used to build drones, as per an Axios report.

More recently, US officials said Iran had used high-resolution imagery from Chinese commercial satellites to target American bases in the Middle East, aircraft carriers and other Navy ships in the Gulf and Arabian Sea, the report cited.

The discovery prompted the US military to change its operational procedures to make it harder for Iran to locate and target Navy vessels, a US official said.

The reported satellite imagery use adds a specific intelligence concern to Washington's broader objections to Chinese assistance. 

Xi Jinping urges Trump to pursue diplomatic solution

Chinese state media reported that Xi urged Trump to de-escalate with Iran by returning to a June memorandum of understanding and reaching a nuclear deal, as per the report.

"China has encouraged relevant parties to stay committed to peaceful solutions and maintain the momentum of talks," Xi told Trump.

The leaders' meeting took place a day after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a new round of indirect negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Qatari officials participated as intermediaries, passing messages between the two sides, according to sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations, as per the outlet's report.

Araghchi presented Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks, the sources said.

Iran proposed taking those steps within a week if the US lifted its naval blockade, removed sanctions on oil sales and reinstated a regional ceasefire.

US negotiators told Iran during Tuesday's talks that Tehran did not control the Strait and therefore could not make demands about it.

Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York on Thursday to discuss the diplomatic effort. 

A source familiar with the mediation said Qatar and Iran were waiting for Trump's response to Tehran's proposal, the outlet cited.

"It is still early to know where it is going, but there are some positive movements," the source said.