Beijing, China. U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication it would weigh in. Trump spoke after two days of talks with Xi in Beijing.
Trump cites discussions with Xi and raises sanctions issue
Flying back from Beijing on Friday, Trump said he was considering whether to lift U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
“I’m not asking for any favors because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return,” Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the vital strait.
“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing, alongside Xi.
China offers no comment on talks, criticizes conflict
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran. China’s foreign ministry expressed frustration with the Iran war, calling it a conflict “which should never have happened, has no reason to continue.”
Strait closure and impact on global energy shipments
Iran effectively shut the strait, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28. The disruption to shipping has caused the biggest oil supply crisis in history, sending oil prices skyrocketing.
Casualties and escalation in the region
Thousands of Iranians were killed during the U.S. and Israeli air strikes, and thousands have been killed in Lebanon in renewed fighting there between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
U.S. blockade, threats, and Iran’s position
The U.S. paused its attacks last month but began a port blockade. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the U.S. ended its blockade. Trump has threatened to resume attacks if Iran does not agree to a deal.
Iran, which has long denied that it intends to build a nuclear weapon, has refused to end nuclear research or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Trump’s frustration.
Iran signals potential for further talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the U.S. indicating Washington was willing to continue talks.
How do you think the Strait of Hormuz disruption could affect global energy prices?
