Trump says US and China are aligned on Iran, Tehran must make a deal soon

U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their talks in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said later that he was considering whether to lift sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil imposed by Washington ahead of his trip to China.

But his comments gave little indication of whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started.

“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle,” Trump said on Friday after he met Xi in Beijing on the second day of talks which included the Iran war, Taiwan, trade and other issues.

Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China’s foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining Beijing’s frustration with the Iran war.

“This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said.

Iran effectively shut the strait to most shipping traffic in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks which began on February 28, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies.

‘WE WANT THE STRAITS OPEN’

The U.S. paused its attacks on Iran last month but began a blockade ⁠of the country’s ports. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the U.S. ended its blockade. Trump has threatened to attack Iran again if it does not agree a deal.

“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing sitting alongside Xi.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the U.S. indicating Washington was willing to continue talks. He did not immediately elaborate.

Iran, which denies it intends to build a nuclear weapon, has refused to end its nuclear program or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Trump’s frustration.

“I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” Trump said in an interview aired on Thursday night on Fox News’ “Hannity” program, suggesting the enriched uranium only needed to be secured by the U.S. for public relations purposes.

Oil prices rose around 3% to near $109 a barrel on concerns over a lack of progress in resolving the conflict.

After talks between Trump and Xi on Thursday, the White House said that Xi had made clear China’s opposition to any Iranian effort to charge a toll for use of the strait.

Trump said Xi also promised not to send Iran military equipment. “That’s a big statement,” Trump said on “Hannity”.

Asked about U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil refineries buying Iranian oil, he told reporters on his plane home: “We talked about that and I’m going to make a decision over the next few days.”

IRAN ⁠SAYS IT DOES NOT TRUST THE AMERICANS

The war has become a liability for Trump as it drags on towards key U.S. midterm elections in November.

China has dismissed reports it had plans to supply weapons to Iran as “groundless smears”, but analysts doubt Xi will be willing to push Iran hard or end support for its military, given its value as a strategic counterweight to the United States.

“I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return,” Trump said, when asked if he had requested help. “We’ve wiped out their (Iran’s) armed forces, essentially. We may have to do a little cleanup work.”

Talks on ending the war, mediated by Pakistan, have been on hold since last week when Iran and the U.S. each rejected the other’s most recent proposals.

Foreign ⁠Minister Araqchi said on Friday Iran would welcome any Chinese input, adding that Tehran was trying to give diplomacy a chance but did not trust the U.S.

Iran is prepared to return to fighting as well as for diplomatic solutions, Araqchi said, reiterating that vessels not linked to states attacking his country could traverse the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas as well as fertilizer and other vital supplies passed through the waterway. Attacks on shipping have prevented almost all traffic although a ⁠huge Chinese tanker and another linked to Japan crossed the strait on Wednesday.

The UAE said it would speed up building a new pipeline to its Fujairah port just outside the strait, after a vessel heading to it was sunk this week and another was boarded and redirected to Iran.

LEBANON TALKS AIM TO EXTEND CEASEFIRE

Thousands of Iranians were killed during the U.S. and Israeli air strikes, and thousands have been killed in renewed fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

With a fragile ⁠ceasefire in Lebanon due to expire on Sunday, discussions between Lebanese and Israeli officials were set to continue on Friday after what a senior State Department official said were productive talks on Thursday. Hezbollah opposes the talks, in which Israel is insisting on the group’s disarmament.

Trump has said his aims in starting the war were to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, end its ability to attack neighbors and make it easier for Iranians to overthrow their government.

Iran is seeking the lifting of sanctions, reparations for war damage and acknowledgment of its control over the strait.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies