By Sabiu Abdullahi
United States President Donald Trump has warned Russia and China against providing military assistance to Iran, saying such a move would not be in the interests of either country.
Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him that their governments were neither supplying weapons to Tehran nor taking part in the conflict involving the United States and Israel.
According to the U.S. president, it would be “certainly not in their best interests” for either Russia or China to arm Iran.
His comments followed earlier Western intelligence reports that alleged Russia had supplied Iran with drones, food and medical supplies. China was also reported to have been considering the delivery of air defence systems to Tehran.
In a post on social media, Trump said Xi had given him assurances during their recent meeting in Beijing that China would not provide military equipment to Iran.
He said the Chinese leader told him that Beijing would not sell or transfer weapons to the Islamic Republic under any circumstances.
Trump also said Putin made a similar commitment despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. According to him, the Russian president stated that Moscow would not sell weapons to Iran.
The U.S. leader expressed confidence that neither country was currently providing military support to Tehran. He, however, cautioned that any reversal of that position would have serious consequences.
Trump added that although Russia and China are often linked to discussions about Iran, he did not believe either country was backing Tehran militarily because doing so would not serve their interests.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Iran has executed more than 100 people over the past month, including three women. The development has drawn fresh concern from human rights organisations, which said repression in the country has intensified.
The reports said Iranian authorities resumed executions several weeks after hostilities with the United States and Israel began in March. The executions were reportedly part of efforts to suppress anti-government protests.
More than 50 people have also reportedly lost their lives over their participation in the demonstrations, which observers described as the largest wave of unrest since Iran’s Islamic leadership assumed power in 1979.
Analysts have warned that the number of executions could increase further following the collapse of efforts to secure a ceasefire.
