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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Ireland to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., on the 13th local time. / Reuters, Yonhap

U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed reports that Iran obtained satellite imagery of a military base in Jordan from China ahead of an attack that killed three U.S. service members in July, indicating he sees no issue with the matter.

Aboard Air Force One on the 13th local time while returning to the U.S. following a visit to Ireland, Trump avoided directly answering a reporter who asked whether he would raise the issue at this month's U.S.-China summit, instead equating the surveillance activities of both nations and brushing it off as unremarkable.

"They basically do what we do," Trump remarked. "When they say that China spies on us, I say you're right, and we spy on them too."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are widely reported to be holding a summit in Washington, D.C., on the 24th of this month, though Beijing has not yet officially announced or confirmed the schedule.

Reaffirming on the 13th that he maintains a good relationship with Xi, Trump added, "I think he's behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well."

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran received satellite imagery of the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan from Chinese-linked entities prior to carrying out its strike on the installation in July.

                                                                                                             Kim Hyun-min