Senator demands Trump confront Xi

Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan has urged President Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on evidence that Iran used Chinese satellite images to attack a U.S. military base in Jordan.

July attack killed three American troops

In July, Iranian missiles and drones struck the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in northeast Jordan. The attacks killed nineteen-year-old Private Isabella Gonzales, twenty-five-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan and twenty-eight-year-old Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad.

China sanctioned for satellite support

In May, the Trump administration sanctioned three Chinese satellite companies for providing imagery that enables Iran's military strikes against U.S. forces: Meentropy Technology, The Earth Eye and Chang Guang Satellite Technology.

Trump dismisses spying concerns

When asked last Sunday whether he would raise the issue with Xi, Trump said of the Chinese leader, "I think he's behaved reasonably well." He added that China spies on America just as America spies on China.

“I think he's behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”

Slotkin criticizes Trump's approach

Slotkin wrote that Trump's "insistence on rolling out the red carpet for our adversaries" is troubling, and urged him to make clear to Xi that Chinese support for Iran "must stop immediately and that there will be consequences China will face if it fails to act."

“this support must stop immediately, and that there will be consequences China will face if it fails to act.”

White House dismisses Iran threat

A senior administration official responded that Iran has been decimated and that outside actors helping Iran are not increasing their ability to target Americans, contradicting Slotkin's assertion that Chinese satellite imagery directly contributed to American deaths.