Washington, Sep 23 (IANS) Democratic military veterans in the US Congress have urged President Donald Trump to confront Chinese President Xi Jinping over allegations that Chinese entities supplied Iran with satellite imagery linked to an attack that killed three American soldiers.
The lawmakers made the demand ahead of Xi’s scheduled White House meeting with Trump on September 24.
Representative Chrissy Houlahan joined 12 other Democratic veterans in sending a letter to Trump. Representative Pat Ryan led the initiative.
They cited The Wall Street Journal as reporting that Iran obtained high-resolution satellite images of a US military base in Jordan from Chinese entities.
An Iranian ballistic missile struck sleeping quarters at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on July 17. Three US service members were killed and four others were wounded.
The lawmakers said US officials had linked the imagery to the attack. They asked Trump to condemn China’s alleged support for Iranian forces and demand an end to cooperation with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“22 brave Americans have lost their lives in Trump’s war with Iran. We now know that at least three of those deaths directly resulted from President Xi sharing key intelligence about U.S. positions with Iran. Instead of holding China accountable, Trump is rolling out the red carpet,” Ryan said.
“I served 27 months in combat in Iraq as an Army Intelligence Officer – I know just how critical and sensitive this information is, and how dangerous it can become in the wrong hands,” he said.
Ryan added: “From intelligence sharing to assistance with weapons manufacturing, President Trump must send a strong clear message to Beijing that aiding the IRGC to kill US troops will not be tolerated.”
In their letter, the lawmakers said the Trump administration knew that such coordination was taking place.
“In May, the State Department sanctioned three China-based firms for supplying Iran with satellite imagery of American and allied military facilities,” the letter said.
It added that senior US officials had reportedly spent months warning Chinese officials that companies in their country were providing Iran with targeting data.
The lawmakers also alleged that Chinese companies had supplied raw materials used to produce Iranian Shahed drones. They accused the firms of delivering chipmaking equipment to the IRGC and selling shoulder-launched missile systems to Iran.
The letter criticised Trump for saying that Xi had “behaved reasonably well” when he was asked whether he would raise the matter with the Chinese leader.
“That is a direct and egregious betrayal of our troops,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Your meeting with President Xi presents an important opportunity to condemn China’s role in arming and enabling Iran, and to demand an end to their support,” they said.
The signatories included Houlahan, Ryan, Salud Carbajal, Gilbert Cisneros, Herbert Conaway, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Ted Lieu, Seth Moulton, Mike Thompson, Derek Tran and Eugene Vindman.
The release did not include responses from the White House, the Chinese government or Iran to the allegations.
China and Iran have expanded their economic and diplomatic relationship over several decades. The two countries signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in 2021 covering areas including energy, infrastructure and trade.
–IANS
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