(Reuters/ Web Desk) – President Donald Trump said that the US mainly agreed to the Iran ceasefire due to appeals from other nations, specifically Pakistan.
"I wouldn’t have really been in favour of it, but we did it as a favour to Pakistan," he added.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from China, Trump said he and Xi “talked a lot about Taiwan” but added that he did not believe there was conflict over the issue.
He said he discussed US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing and said he would soon make a decision on the matter, highlighting a flashpoint in US-China relations.
He said he made no commitments to Xi regarding Taiwan.
Trump also said Xi asked directly whether the United States would defend Taiwan if China attacked the island, but that he declined to answer.
“There's only one person that knows that, and it is me. I'm the only person,” Trump said. “That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don't talk about that.”
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has long opposed US weapons sales to the island, which Beijing sees as interference in its internal affairs.
The United States, despite lacking formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and largest supplier of arms.
US gained 'total military victory in Iran': Trump
Trump also declared that the US had gained a “total military victory in Iran”.
In response to a question, the US president asserted, “ We knocked out their entire navy, we knocked out their air force, we knocked out their leaders in the second division, we knocked out their leaders in the third division”.
On being asked if hostilities could resume, the US president said, “I don’t want to say anything. I can only say with very, very strong conviction that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon”.