Reports reveal that Iran is expected to receive the first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made, shoulder-fired air defense missile launchers as it attempts to rebuild its defenses, reports Reuters. The purchase is valued to be between $60 and $70 million.
At a recent meeting with the media in the White House, Trump was asked about the report.
"Well, that would be surprising. I mean, things like that happen, but that would be surprising. He told me very strongly he wouldn't partake, and he knows I'd be quite disappointed," Trump, referring to China's president Xi Jinping, told reporters.
Gordon Chang, an Asian policy analyst and author of "Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America," tells AFN that the president said he would be disappointed if China goes through with the sell.
"Yes, but President Trump also needs to demand the Chinese, in private and public, that they not deliver those weapons and that they stop all support for the Iranian regime,” says Chang. “These weapons are going to be used to kill Americans. President Trump needs a resolute response."
AFN has reported on the apparent partnership with Iran and China, especially since China is a critical economic partner and Iran’s largest oil buyer. China has also supplied components for Iran’s drones and missile programs.
China intends, he says, to prolong the war.
"It believes that prolonging the war will work to the detriment of President Trump and the Republican Party in the midterms in November. President Trump needs to understand that China is his enemy and that it's working to undermine everything that he stands for," says Chang.
