Trump urges Xi Jinping to halt support for Iran

US President Donald Trump has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to immediately stop all forms of assistance to Iran.

The request was made during President Xi's visit to Washington. US Ambassador to China David Perdue confirmed this in an interview with American television network CNBC on Friday.

According to US officials, China has been providing Iran with economic, intelligence and military support, which Washington considers a major obstacle to its economic pressure campaign against Iran. US officials allege China has been sending air defense systems and drone parts since the war began.

US officials also claim that Iran has used Chinese commercial satellite imagery to target American military bases in the Middle East as well as ships in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Following this, the US military has changed the way it operates its ships.

According to Ambassador Perdue, China was told weeks ago that any form of assistance—whether intelligence, parts or military equipment—would be unacceptable. He said it was also made clear that the Iran issue could not be linked to Taiwan.

He said the US has evidence that China has pulled back on some measures. Chinese state media, however, reported that President Xi urged Trump to return to the June memorandum of understanding and reduce tensions with Iran through a nuclear deal.