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

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/DUBAI – US 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.

Mr 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,” Mr Trump said on May 15 after meeting Mr Xi in Beijing on the second day of talks, which included the Iran war, Taiwan, trade and other issues.

Mr Xi did not comment on his discussions with Mr 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 US-Israeli attacks, which began on Feb 28, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies.

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

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had received messages from the US 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 programme or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Mr Trump’s frustration.

“I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” Mr Trump said in an interview aired on the night of May 14 on Fox News’ Hannity programme, suggesting the enriched uranium needed to be secured by the US only for public relations purposes.

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

After talks between Mr Trump and Mr Xi on May 14, the White House said the Chinese leader had made clear Beijing’s opposition to any Iranian effort to charge a toll for use of the strait.

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

Asked about US 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.”

The war has become a liability for Mr Trump as it drags on towards the key US midterm elections in November.

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

“I’m not asking for any favours, because when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return,” Mr 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 clean-up work.”

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

Mr Araghchi said on May 15 that Iran would welcome any Chinese input, adding that Tehran was trying to give diplomacy a chance but did not trust the US.

Iran is prepared to return to fighting as well as for diplomatic solutions, Mr Araghchi 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 fertiliser 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 April 13.

The United Arab Emirates 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.

Thousands of Iranians were killed during the US 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 May 17, discussions between Lebanese and Israeli officials were set to continue on May 15 after what a senior State Department official said were productive talks on May 14. Hezbollah opposes the talks, in which Israel is insisting on the group’s disarmament.

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

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