{"id":562,"date":"2026-04-13T15:55:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/?p=562"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T15:56:00","slug":"china-rejects-claims-of-supplying-weapons-to-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/china-rejects-claims-of-supplying-weapons-to-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"China rejects claims of supplying weapons to Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING<\/strong>: China has rejected recent US Intelligence reports suggesting it plans to supply weapons to Iran, with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying in a press conference on Monday that the allegations were \u201cbaseless smears\u201d, reaffirming China’s policy of adhering to “strict controls in accordance with its own export control laws and regulations and its international obligations”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reporter asked about reports that “China is planning to provide weapons to Iran” and “China has already provided Iran with dual-use technologies and related components,” which prompted spokesperson Guo’s response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese statement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over reports, including from US intelligence assessments, that China may be preparing to deliver military systems to Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to US intelligence sources, China was reportedly preparing to send air-defence weapons, including shoulder\u2011fired anti\u2011aircraft missile systems (MANPADs), to Iran in the coming weeks and may attempt to route them through third countries to mask their origin, citing unnamed sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reports did not name specific military systems beyond the general category of air-defence systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to those reports, US President Donald Trump warned that China \u201ccan have big problems\u201d if it goes ahead with such deliveries, though he did not release evidence or provide specific timelines related to the intelligence assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports that despite China being one of Iran\u2019s most vocal sources of support, there are no official accounts of Beijing providing Tehran with military or financial backing since the US-Israeli strikes started hostilities on February 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s remarks come as the administration escalates economic leverage tied to the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing provides military assistance to Iran, a move he described as a \u201cstaggering\u201d penalty if such support is confirmed. The threat underscores US efforts to deter third\u2011party involvement in the Iran conflict by tying trade actions to perceived military support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, neither the US State Department nor Chinese officials have publicly released detailed evidence of the alleged arms shipment plans, and Beijing has refused to acknowledge any intention to provide weapons, calling the intelligence reports politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Trump has said he and his advisers were considering resuming limited military strikes on Iran, according to a Wall Street Journal report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US military said it will begin a \u200bblockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday, after weekend talks failed to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, jeopardising \u200ca fragile two-week ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamabad Talks 2026, which ran from Saturday into early Sunday, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The negotiations came days after a ceasefire began on Tuesday, aimed at ending six weeks of fighting that has killed thousands of people across the Gulf, throttled vital supplies of energy and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Central Command said that the US blockade, starting \u200bat 10am ET on Monday (7pm PKT), would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf \u200band Gulf of Oman.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unified command of the Iranian armed forces said the ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are \u201ceither for everyone or for no one\u201d, state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider defending the legal rights of our country a natural and legal duty, and accordingly, exercising the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the territorial waters of our country is the natural right of the Iranian nation,\u201d IRIB cited Iran\u2019s forces as stating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is reported that the forces’ statement read \u201cEnemy-affiliated vessels\u201d will have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while other vessels will be allowed passage, subject to regulations by Tehran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIJING: China has rejected recent US Intelligence reports suggesting it plans to supply weapons to Iran, with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying in a press conference on Monday that the allegations were \u201cbaseless smears\u201d, reaffirming China’s policy of adhering to “strict controls in accordance with its own export control laws and regulations and its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7,9],"tags":[40,48],"ppma_author":[27],"class_list":{"0":"post-562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-china","8":"category-latest","9":"category-food","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-wang-yi"},"authors":[{"term_id":27,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"afnanwasif","display_name":"Web Desk","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cbec8328241e98fefcd32e00f20f7a6b502086a0b95d395db4b1565c51681914?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}