U.S. President Donald Trump has raised new concerns about Beijing’s possible role in supporting Tehran, pointing to a recently intercepted vessel he described as carrying a “gift from China.”

Speaking in an interview with CNBC on April 21, Trump said the U.S. military had seized a ship with suspicious cargo, although he did not identify the vessel.

“We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice, a gift from China, perhaps, I don’t know,” he said.

“I was a little surprised because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with ... Xi. But that’s all right. That’s the way the war goes, right?”

The president said in a April 21 post on Truth Social that he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal to end the war.

Trump also said he told the U.S. military to extend its naval blockade of Iranian ports that has lasted for more than a week, saying that the military will, “in all other respects, remain ready and able.”

Trump suggested in the CNBC interview that Iran may have used the pause in hostilities to replenish supplies. The Epoch Times cannot confirm which vessel Trump was referring to.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on April 21 called the U.S. blockade a breach of the ceasefire and said that “striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation.”

Over the weekend, U.S. forces intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the M/V Touska, in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to bypass a week-long naval blockade.

Separately, the Pentagon said on April 21 that another Iran-linked tanker, the M/T Tifani, had been stopped in the Indo-Pacific region and classified as “stateless.”

Former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said the interception of the Touska points to Chinese assistance for Iran.

In an April 21 post on X, Haley said the vessel was carrying chemical shipments for missiles.

“Another reminder that China is helping prop up Iran’s regime—a reality that can’t be ignored,” she said.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press during an event outside the Oval Office of the White House on April 13, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

China has pushed back against the allegations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on April 21 that the ship seized by the United States was a foreign-flagged container ship and dismissed speculation about its cargo, according to Chinese state media outlet China Central Television.

Shipping data and satellite imagery add another layer to the unfolding story.

The Touska was tracked near Taicang Port, north of Shanghai, on March 25, before docking at Gaolan Port in Zhuhai several days later, according to satellite analysis by data analytics specialists SynMax, cited by Reuters.

China remains one of Iran’s most important trading partners, and recent research suggests that commercial supply chains may be playing an increasing role in Tehran’s military capabilities.

A report published last month by Washington-based think tank The Jamestown Foundation found that Iranian drone operations in March relied on thousands of Chinese-made components.

Some of those parts were allegedly routed through shell companies disguised as e-cigarette exporters or mislabeled as refrigeration equipment to avoid detection, according to the report. It noted the growing difficulty of enforcing sanctions against decentralized networks of small firms.

“Western enforcement tools built for big defense contractors are powerless against an ecosystem of small enterprises that can dissolve within weeks of being sanctioned and reconstitute under a new legal entity,” the think tank said in an April 20 post on X.

Trump said on April 12 that China could face a 50 percent tariff on its exports to the United States if the country is found to be arming Iran.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he had heard reports alleging that China was supplying military weapons to Iran, although he expressed doubts about their veracity.

“I hear news reports about China giving the shoulder missiles, what’s called a shoulder missile, anti-aircraft missile. I doubt they would do that,” he told Fox.

“But if we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is staggering. That’s a staggering amount.”

Aldgra Fredly, Xia Yu, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.