Trump Says Russia and China Are Not Helping Iran, After Saying in July the Help Was “Not Major”

Donald Trump wrote on Monday 12 October that he does not believe Russia or China is helping Iran in the war. Three days earlier, on a phone call, Vladimir Putin had put Tehran’s position to him, according to the Kremlin. In July Trump described the same help as “not major.”

On 12 October Trump wrote on Truth Social that “if they are, it’s at a very low level, but I don’t believe they are at all,” according to an ANI dispatch carried by The Tribune. On 24 July he had told reporters that help from the two countries had “thus far at least” not been major, days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate hearing there was “definitely adversary alignment,” The National News Desk reported. The Kremlin says the 9 October call carried both a Russian offer on Iran’s uranium and Tehran’s position. We found no US readout of either part.

Trump’s post came on Monday, according to the ANI dispatch in The Tribune. It dismissed the claims, and it said Russia and China “have too much to lose.” The dispatch quotes the line “If they are, it’s at a very low level, but I don’t believe they are at all.”

In July the wording differed. In a report by The National News Desk dated 24 July, Hegseth told a Senate hearing that both countries were “enabling some of the things Iran is doing, yes,” and said the extent should stay classified. Trump answered on social media that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin had each told him they would not give weapons to Iran. Asked about the gap with Hegseth, he said: “Thus far at least, it has not been major.” Marco Rubio, in Manila, would not say whether Russia had shared intelligence with Iran. He did not dispute Hegseth.

Then came the call of Friday 9 October. Our earlier piece recorded the account of Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov: Putin told Trump that Russia’s proposal to take Iran’s highly enriched uranium “remains in force,” and Trump welcomed Moscow’s involvement. On Saturday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added, in remarks relayed by Interfax and carried by Ynet: “Putin conveyed to Trump the Iranian side’s position regarding a possible resolution of the conflict.” Peskov said Putin acted in coordination with the Iranian president.

Putin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan on 8 October. Rudaw reported that Pezeshkian said: “We will not leave the negotiating table or dialogue.” He said both sides had submitted proposals and that Iran had amended Washington’s latest ones. The same report says Trump told Rudaw he would not rule out attacking Iran before the November midterms. Asked why he tied it to the vote, he said: “We will see.”

Set the dates in order. On 24 July Trump says the help is “not major.” On 9 October the Kremlin says Putin carried Iran’s position to Washington and repeated the uranium offer. On 12 October Trump says he does not believe there is help “at all.” Peskov’s account has Moscow carrying Tehran’s position to Trump three days before that post.

None of the statements shows arming. Ushakov and Peskov describe a message and an offer. Hegseth said in July that the extent of the enabling should stay classified and gave no detail. Trump’s “too much to lose” is a claim about incentives, and the post does not say what Washington would do if its intelligence said otherwise.

A US readout, or a Trump comment, on whether he accepted the uranium offer or only acknowledged it. Any Chinese foreign ministry reply. We found no Beijing statement on the 12 October post. Iran’s finished amendments to the US proposals, which Pezeshkian said would go through existing channels. Whether Trump’s “We will see” on a pre-election attack turns into a deadline.