US President Donald Trump said he is losing patience with Iran he discussed the costly and unpopular war with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and a ship was reportedly seized by Iranian personnel off the United Arab Emirates. T
he White House said Trump and Xi had agreed during talks in Beijing on the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane open. Iran effectively shut the waterway in response to US-Israeli attacks which began on February 28, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies. China is close to Iran and the main buyer of its oil.
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US-Iran Nuclear Talks Stall
The US paused its attacks on Iran last month but began a blockade of the country’s ports. Talks aimed at ending the conflict have stalled with Iran refusing to end its nuclear program or relinquish its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“I am not going to be much more patient,” Trump said in an interview aired on Thursday night on Fox News’ “Hannity” program. “They should make a deal.”
On the key issue of Iran’s hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, Trump suggested it only needed to be secured by the US for public relations purposes.
“I don’t think it’s necessary except from a public relations standpoint,” Trump said in the interview.
“I just feel better if I got it, actually. But it’s, I think, it’s more for public relations than it is for anything else.”
Indian Cargo Ship Sunk Near Oman
In the latest incidents on the trade route, an Indian cargo vessel carrying livestock from Africa to the UAE was sunk on Wednesday in waters off the coast of Oman.
India condemned the attack and said all 14 crew members had been rescued by the Omani coast guard. Vanguard, a British maritime security advisory firm, said the vessel was believed to have been hit by a missile or drone which caused an explosion. Separately, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported on Thursday that “unauthorized personnel” had boarded a ship anchored off the coast of the UAE port of Fujairah, and were steering it toward Iran.
Vanguard said a company security officer had reported that “the vessel was taken by Iranian personnel while at anchor.” After talks between Trump and Xi on Thursday, the White House said the leaders had agreed that the strait should be open and that Xi made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use.
Trump said Xi also promised not to send Iran military equipment. “He said he’s not going to give military equipment, that’s a big statement,” Trump said on “Hannity.”
Xi also expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s future dependence on the strait and the leaders agreed that Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons, the White House readout said. Tehran has denied seeking such weapons.
Diplomacy on Hold
Trump is keen to elicit Chinese support to end a war that has become an electoral liability as it drags on toward key US midterm elections in November. 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 US
In an interview with CNBC from Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed China would “do what they can” to help open the strait, something “very much in their interest.” Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the waterway.
But diplomacy has been on hold since last week when Iran and the US each rejected the other’s most recent proposals.
Fujairah is the UAE’s sole oil port, on the Gulf of Oman just outside the Strait of Hormuz, and enables some shipments to reach markets without passing through the chokepoint.
Iran appears to be making more deals with countries to allow some ships to pass through the strait — if they accept Tehran’s terms. A Japanese tanker crossed on Wednesday after Japan’s prime minister announced that she had requested help from the Iranian president.
Iran Claims More Ships Passing Through Key Waterway
A huge Chinese tanker also crossed on Wednesday, and Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday that an agreement had been reached to let some Chinese ships pass.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said 30 vessels had passed through the strait since Wednesday evening, still far short of the 140 on a typical day before the war, but a substantial increase if confirmed.
According to shipping analytics firm Kpler, some 10 ships had sailed through the strait in the past 24 hours, against five to seven that have crossed daily in recent weeks.
