PoliticsDonald Trump Says China 'Spies on Us' Just Like 'We Spy on Them' After Report Links Chinese Imagery to Iran Strike: 'They Basically Do What We Do'
Donald Trump downplayed reports that Chinese entities provided satellite imagery to Iran before the deadly strike on a U.S. base in Jordan.
Sept. 15 2026, Published 1:27 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump has dismissed national security concerns regarding a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese entities provided Iran with high-resolution satellite imagery before a deadly missile strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan.
According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. intelligence has directly linked Chinese-sourced satellite imagery to an Iranian missile strike that killed three American service members.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump downplayed the intelligence-sharing allegations, saying both nations engage in the same behavior.
Donald Trump Shrugs Off China Claims
'You're right, and we spy on them, too,' Donald Trump admitted of China.
"You know what they say? That China spies on us. I say you're right, and we spy on them, too. They basically do what we do,” the 80-year-old POTUS said.
The original report alleged that Iran obtained high-resolution intelligence and satellite imagery of Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. A July 17 missile attack on the base by Iranian-backed forces killed three U.S. Army soldiers and wounded four others.
Officials cited the findings as the clearest evidence to date that Chinese commercial intelligence support for Iran has had deadly consequences for U.S. forces.
Strike Exposes Intelligence Gaps
The July missile strike killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded four others at a military base in Jordan.
The ballistic missile attack hit sleeping quarters, killing three soldiers and wounding four others.
The imagery was highly critical for Iran because previous U.S. counter-strikes had severely degraded Iran's internal radar, surveillance and tracking equipment. The Chinese data substantially filled those intelligence gaps.
Iran publicly released its own high-resolution graphics of the base's destruction within three days of the attack.
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China's Role Remains Unclear
U.S. officials have not identified the Chinese entities involved or accused Beijing of directly ordering the satellite imagery transfer.
WSJ's independent analysis of lower-resolution commercial imagery confirmed damage to more than 20 structures at the facility, which also targeted U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft.
U.S. officials declined to name the specific Chinese companies involved and did not explicitly accuse the Chinese government of ordering or being directly involved in the transaction.
Rather than condemning Beijing, Trump stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping has "behaved reasonably well" and downplayed the controversy as standard international espionage.
China Tensions Complicate Summit
The satellite imagery allegations come as Trump prepares for a planned September 24 meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The remarks come at a sensitive time. Tensions remain high ahead of President Xi Jinping's planned visit to the White House on September 24.
Trump had also previously threatened 50 percent tariffs on countries supplying weapons to Iran, though China's foreign ministry has called reports of them providing military assistance "purely fabricated.”
The report notes that the Trump administration spent months warning Chinese counterparts about private companies feeding satellite data to Tehran, even issuing preliminary sanctions against certain firms in May. Chinese officials have consistently pushed back, demanding proof and denying the allegations.
