Late on October 12, 2026, Trump posted: “I see so many comments from the Radical Left Morons and Lunatics that China and Russia are helping the 'wonderful' Islamic Republic of Iran. If they are, it's at a very low level, but I don't believe they are at all. They have too much to lose, and we would know about it, and know about it very fast!”
His own administration's record says otherwise. On May 8 the State Department sanctioned “several China-based entities providing satellite imagery to enable Iran's military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East,” saying the action “holds China-based entities accountable for their support to Iran.” In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators that “there are ways in which both of those countries are at different levels, enabling some of the things Iran is doing, yes,” Fox San Antonio reported. On October 8 the Treasury sanctioned tankers in Iran's shadow fleet, including vessels owned by China-based firms. The sanctions name companies, not the Chinese state; Newsweek noted that U.S. officials did not accuse Beijing itself.
Trump has said this before. On July 24 he wrote of Xi, “I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favors, also,” and said the two countries were not “participating” in the war “in my opinion,” The Hill reported (see Russia Is Sharing Intelligence With Iran to Target U.S. Troops, and Trump Dismisses the Reports While His Envoy Says to 'Take Russia at Their Word').