Ankara / Anadolu

US President Donald Trump expressed his belief that China and Russia are not involved in selling weapons to Iran, warning that any such step would not be in the interest of the two countries.

In a social media post on Friday, he said he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (mid-May last month), and the latter assured him that China would not provide or sell weapons to Iran under any circumstances, and that this also includes Chinese companies.

Trump added: "Given our relationship, I take his word with confidence, and I am also providing him with very big services," without elaboration.

He stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin informed him, "despite the horrific ongoing war in Ukraine," that he would not sell weapons to Iran.

The US president continued: "Putin knows that I sell weapons to NATO countries and not to Ukraine."

He concluded: "I believe these two great countries are not involved in selling weapons to Iran, and if they were, it would be very bad for them, and certainly not in their interest."

For about two weeks, the United States has been conducting raids inside Iran, while Tehran responds with attacks using missiles and drones on military bases, installations, and sites it says are linked to Washington in regional countries.

The escalation comes despite Washington and Tehran signing a memorandum of understanding in June last month that included a cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations to reach a broader agreement to end the war that Israel and the United States began on February 28 last month.

But Trump announced on July 8 that the ceasefire had ended, following attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that Washington accused Tehran of being behind.

Washington demands that Tehran stop attacking ships and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran insists on subjecting the passage of ships to a mechanism it regulates through the waterway overlooking its coasts, exacerbating fears of disruption to oil and gas exports from the region.