Trump warns Russia and China against arming Iran, says he trusts Putin and Xi's assurances

Trump's Truth Social warning

On 24 July 2026, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to address the ongoing US-Iran conflict, issuing a stark warning to Russia and China while simultaneously expressing trust in their leaders' assurances. He wrote that both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin had personally told him their countries were not supplying weapons to Tehran.

So, two large countries often mentioned when speaking about Iran are not involved, in my opinion. If they were, that would be very bad for them. It certainly would not be in their interest.

Trump's post came after weeks of intensifying strikes between the United States and Iran, which led to the collapse of a June memorandum of understanding brokered by Pakistan.

Assurances from Beijing and Moscow

The US president detailed a conversation he had with Xi Jinping during a recent summit in Beijing. According to Trump, the Chinese leader explicitly guaranteed that no Chinese entities were engaged in arms transactions with Iran.

He told me that under no circumstances were they buying or selling weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that statement includes Chinese companies. Given our relationship, I take him at his word. And besides, I am doing him great favours.

Trump refrained from specifying what those favours entailed. Regarding Vladimir Putin, he acknowledged the "terrible war in Ukraine" but said the Russian president also pledged not to sell arms to Iran. The American leader framed this as part of a reciprocal understanding: the United States, he claimed, does not sell weapons directly to Ukraine but to NATO allies, who pay full price and redistribute them independently.

He understands that I am not selling weapons to Ukraine, but to NATO countries. They pay the full price, and how those weapons are later redistributed, I have no idea.

Trump's tone toward Xi and Putin remains notably more cordial than his rhetoric toward traditional US allies, a pattern consistent with his view that leaders of great powers deserve respect.

A conflict with mounting external concerns

The war began on 28 February 2026 with a joint offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran. Since then, the region has seen repeated cycles of US strikes on Iranian military targets and Iranian attacks on American bases in the Gulf. The June memorandum, mediated by Pakistan, had aimed to de-escalate the fighting but collapsed amid renewed hostilities, and Trump's post did not signal any new diplomatic initiative.

Even as Trump publicly vouched for China and Russia's non-involvement in arms sales, US authorities are investigating whether Moscow or Beijing may be passing classified intelligence to Iranian forces. This probe follows a recent series of Iranian attacks on US bases and adds a layer of suspicion beneath the surface of the president's confident statements.