US President Donald Trump has said that China is "very happy" because he is "permanently opening" the Strait of Hormuz in a fresh post on Truth Social. He said the crucial strait will never be blocked again.
The Republican leader also claimed in the post that China had agreed not to supply weapons to Iran, which is an assertion that sits uneasily alongside recent reporting. CNN has reported that Beijing is preparing to deliver air defence systems to Tehran, while the Financial Times has revealed that Iran has been using Chinese spy satellites to locate and target US military bases. "China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran", Trump wrote.
However, China's Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied in recent days that the country is providing any form of military support to Iran.