WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he has asked to postpone a planned trip to China by around a month as his administration deals with the military operation against Iran.

“I don't know. We're working on that right now. We're speaking to China. I'd love to, but because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel,” Trump told reporters.

"And so we've requested that we delay it a month or so, and I'm looking forward to being with them.”

The US has "a very good relationship" with China, he said.

“There’s no tricks to it either,” he added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”

China’s Foreign Ministry said earlier Monday that Washington and Beijing are in communication over the planned leaders' summit.

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since the US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

It has also closed the Strait of Hormuz since early March, pushing oil prices higher. The key shipping lane normally handles about 20 million barrels of oil a day, roughly 20% of the global supply.​​​​​​​