Trump on China's virus numbers, Iran threat

US President Donald Trump faced questions Wednesday during the daily briefing on the coronavirus pandemic about China's reporting of their positive cases and death numbers.

"The numbers seem to be a little bit on the light side," said Trump.

"'m being nice when I say that relative to what we witnessed and what was reported, but we discussed that with him, not so much the numbers as what they did and how they're doing. And we're in constant communication with. I mean, I would say the biggest communications, myself and President Xi, the relationships are very good."

China has publicly reported only about 82,000 cases and 3,300 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

That is compared to more than 213,000 cases in the United States alone and more than 4,700 deaths.

The president also spoke about Iran or an Iran-backed militia planning an attack on U.S. troops or assets in Iraq and warned that Iran would "pay a very heavy price" if it were carried out.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.