Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Trump thanks Xi, Putin for staying 'neutral' during Iran war
Posted
June 17, 2026
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1,650
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June 17, 2026
1,650
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3:26Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for staying neutral during the United States’ negotiations with Iran over an end to the war.
The president made the comment during a news conference in France on Wednesday. Iran and the U.S. have reportedly reached an agreement that they will be signing in the next several days.
“So I just want to thank them because they made it a lot better,” Trump said, adding that he asked Xi not to sell weapons to Iran and, “for the most part, he didn’t.”
A reporter asked Trump to explain the difference between the U.S. giving Iran money and unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian assets.
“We have taken a lot of their money, and we have their money. We have taken their money, it’s not our money, it's their money, and we froze it,” Trump said. “At a certain point in time, I guess we're going to have to give it back.”
Trump said keeping Iran’s assets frozen would stop other countries and foreigners from investing in the U.S. dollar again.
“They don't want to have a little conflict with somebody and end up having the United States just take their money,” Trump said. “If you do that, you really don't have a system.”
Trump spoke to reporters at a news conference while meeting with the leaders of top industrial nations at the G7 summit in France.
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