source: reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday brushed aside a report ​that Iran acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese ‌entities before an attack that killed three U.S. troops there in July.

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed U.S. officials about the attack in Jordan. Asked whether he ​would mention the issue at an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi ​Jinping, Trump did not directly answer, and instead equated the surveillance ⁠activities of China and the United States.

“They basically do what we do,” he ​told reporters aboard Air Force One. “When they say China spies on us, I say ​you’re right and we spy on them too.”

The Chinese and U.S. presidents are expected to meet in the United States on September 24, although China has yet to officially confirm that the meeting ​will take place.

Trump on Sunday reiterated his view that he has a good ​relationship with Xi.

“I think he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well,” Trump said as ‌he ⁠flew back to the United States after a weekend trip to Ireland.

The Wall Street Journal report, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said the U.S. officials declined to identify the Chinese entities that supplied the imagery to Iran and did not ​allege direct involvement by ​Beijing.

On Monday, China ⁠said it has consistently and strictly fulfilled its international obligations, without elaborating further.

“We firmly oppose unfounded suspicions and accusations made ​without evidence,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at ​a regular ⁠news briefing when asked for a response.

Trump’s comments appeared consistent with the administration’s recent efforts to play down wide-ranging tensions between Washington and Beijing, despite U.S.
frustration over Beijing’s ⁠close ​ties to Tehran.

At least 18 U.S. service personnel have ​been killed since the U.S-Israeli war with Iran began at the end of February.