Donald Trump said the U.S. military seized another ship at sea that carried a "gift from China," without specifying what it was, amid reports that China is preparing to send weapons to Iran.,
On 21 Apr 2026 GMT+7, Donald Trump, President of the United States, said on CNBC's “Squawk Box” that the military had intercepted another ship carrying a “gift from China.” He did not specify which ship it was or what exactly the “gift” referred to.
“Yesterday, we seized a ship that had something on it that wasn’t very good,” Trump said. “Maybe it was a gift from China—I don’t really know. But I was a bit surprised because I have a very good relationship and I think a mutual understanding with President Xi Jinping of China.”
Trump did not identify the ship, but last week CNN reported that U.S. intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver a new air defense system to Iran within the next few weeks.
Trump had previously warned that the Chinese government would face consequences if it supplied weapons to Iran. However, on Tuesday (21 Apr) he appeared to downplay the possibility of Chinese support for Iran, saying, “It’s okay... that’s the way of war, isn’t it?”
Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing, China, next month.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense (the Pentagon) revealed on Tuesday that U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indo-Pacific region last night without any violence. This was part of efforts to “disrupt illegal networks” supporting Iran.
The Pentagon stated that the military exercised its right-of-visit to intercept and board the M/T Tifani, a stateless sanctioned vessel. The operation proceeded smoothly without incident.
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Source:cnn